A flight carrying 12 people deported from the United States has landed in Uganda under a bilateral migration agreement between the two countries. This marks the first such transfer since the deal was signed in August 2023.
Key Takeaways
A flight carrying 12 deportees from the United States has landed in Uganda under a bilateral migration agreement signed last August. This marks the first such transfer since the deal was finalized.
- First deportation flight arrives in Uganda under US-Uganda third-country agreement
- Ugandan Law Society condemns process as undignified and plans legal challenges
- Deportees' nationalities not disclosed, but confirmed to be of African origin without criminal records
- Uganda hosts nearly 2 million refugees, raising concerns about resource strain
The Ugandan Law Society condemned the arrivals, describing the process as 'undignified, harrowing and dehumanising.' The society plans to file legal challenges to the deportations in Ugandan and regional courts. No details about the deportees' nationalities have been made public.
Yasmeen Hibrawi, a public affairs counsellor at the US embassy in Kampala, confirmed that all transfers are 'in full cooperation with the government of Uganda.' However, she declined to discuss specific details due to privacy reasons. A senior Ugandan government official stated that the deportees would stay temporarily as part of a transition phase for potential onward transmission.
Uganda is one of several African countries accepting non-national deportees from the US under third-country agreements. Other nations include Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda and South Sudan. The Ugandan government has clarified that it will not accept deportees with criminal records or unaccompanied minors.
The East African nation already hosts nearly 2 million refugees, primarily from conflict-hit countries such as South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This growing refugee population places increasing strains on Uganda's resources.
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