The first group of 12 deportees from the United States has arrived in Uganda as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes on with its strategy of expelling migrants to a third country.
The deported people would stay in the East African country as “a transition phase for potential onward transmission to other countries,” Senior Ugandan government told reporters.
Spokesperson for Uganda’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, Simon Mundeyi told local media by telephone that the 12 people arrived at Entebbe International Airport.
They were from six African countries – 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 US 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 prioritise 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 criticised the process, describing it as “undignified, harrowing and dehumanising”.
Already one of the largest refugee-hosting countries in Africa, Uganda now joins Eswatini, Rwanda and South Sudan among the countries accepting deportees from the US.