KAMPALA, UGANDA | Xinhua | Eight deportees from the United States have arrived in Uganda, sparking renewed debate over the country’s role in accepting third-country nationals, an official said on Thursday.
Simon Mundeyi, spokesperson for Uganda’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, told Xinhua by telephone that the eight people arrived at Entebbe International Airport.
There were seven men and one woman from six African countries, including Mauritania, Angola, Ethiopia, Mali, Togo and Guinea, and they were classified as asylum seekers, according to Mundeyi.
In August last year, Uganda said it had reached an agreement with the United States to accept third-country nationals who may not qualify for asylum in America but are unwilling or unable to return to their countries of origin. Authorities said the country would prioritize individuals from African countries.
The arrangement has sparked debate locally and internationally, with critics raising concerns about its transparency and humanitarian implications.
The Uganda Law Society, the country’s national bar association, criticized the process, describing it as undignified, harrowing and dehumanizing.
In a statement posted on the social media platform X, the body said it had gone to court to challenge the arrangement, alleging that it serves unnamed private interests on both sides of the Atlantic.
Already one of the largest refugee-hosting countries in Africa, Uganda now joins Rwanda and South Sudan among the countries accepting deportees from the United States. ■
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