Rwanda has launched legal proceedings against the United Kingdom over unpaid sums linked to a controversial migrant deportation agreement abandoned by London nearly two years ago, a Rwandan official said on Tuesday.

The deal, initially brokered by former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2022, was scrapped by current Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July 2024, who described it as “dead and buried.” Under the agreement, the UK had already paid Kigali around $330.9 million, with a further $68.9 million scheduled for April.

“Rwanda regrets that it has been necessary to pursue these claims in arbitration, but faced with the United Kingdom’s intransigence on these issues, it has been left with no other choice,” said Michael Butera, Chief Technical Advisor to Rwanda’s Minister of Justice. 

He noted that Kigali had first sought diplomatic engagement before resorting to legal action.

A UK government spokesperson said the country “will robustly defend our position to protect British taxpayers.” 

The dispute follows Britain's suspension of much of its financial aid to Rwanda over Kigali’s support for the M23 offensive in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a move Rwanda described as “punitive.”

The deportation agreement itself faced multiple legal challenges, including a November 2023 ruling by the UK Supreme Court declaring it illegal under international law.

Migration policy remains a high-stakes political issue in the UK, particularly since leaving the European Union in 2020.