An agreement reached between US President Donald Trump’s administration and Uganda to obtain deportees from the US has been condemned by Ugandans. The East African country’s parliament was not informed, and the deal was accepted by the opposition, which has questioned the lack of its approval.
Opposition figures consider the deal as a way to calm the political situation around the President by the pressures exerted after the US imposed targeted sanctions on government officials, including the parliamentary speaker, he said.
Ibrahim Ssemujju, a noted opposition lawmaker, mentioned that after being subjected to sanctions by Washington, “Museveni will be glad” to do business with the US.
While officials of Uganda have not come out with a lot of information on the deal, they have, however, indicated that they would like the African origin of the deportees and those without a criminal record to be prioritized.
The deal includes the processing of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident and El Salvador native charged with human smuggling, who has lived in the US for years under protected legal status.
The US Department of Homeland Security relayed the message that Abrego Garcia “is being removed to Uganda after the process is completed.”
He (Mathias Mpuuga) blamed the failure of the parliament to see the deal as the reason for the “whole scheme stinking”. He wondered why Uganda would want more refugees when it already faced other ongoing conflicts such as that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Sudan that have caused many refugees.
Deputy Minister Okello Oryem, at first, referred to such a deal as “complete rubbish” after his permanent secretary confirmed a deal for individuals with concerns about their return to their origin countries.
We have instances in the past where the US has deported individuals to countries like Eswatini and South Sudan. The Rwandan government has also given a go-ahead to the US to send up to 250 deportees there.
