By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A group of 12 deportees from the United States on Thursday landed in Uganda, the Uganda Law Society confirmed, marking the first transfer under a deal with Donald Trump, which designates the East African country as a destination for migrants that cannot be accommodated by Washington or sent back to their countries of origin.
Trump’s third-country transfer policy, which has faced legal and human rights criticisms over concerns of the safety of the deportees in a terrain they are not familiar with
The Safe Third Country Agreement, signed by both countries, “are in full cooperation with the Government of Uganda”, Public Affairs Counsellor at the U.S. Embassy in Kampala, Yasmeen Hibrawi said.
“We do not, however, discuss the details of our private diplomatic communications and for privacy reasons, we cannot discuss the particulars to their cases,” Hibrawi added.
A senior Ugandan government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the arrivals and said the deportees would remain in Uganda as part of “a transition phase for potential onward transmission to other countries”.
It was not clear what nationalities the deportees were or where they will be moved to from Uganda.
With the Thursday arrival, Uganda becomes the latest African nation to accept non-national deportees from the U.S., joining the likes of Ghana, South Sudan, Cameroon, and Eswatini.
The law society said the deportees, who arrived at Entebbe International Airport early on Thursday, had been subjected to what it described as an “undignified, harrowing and dehumanising process”.
It added that it planned to challenge the legality of their deportation in court.
In August, Kampala announced its deal with Washington, stipulating Uganda would take in individuals denied asylum in the U.S. who were unwilling to return to their countries of origin.
