Ugandans in Afghanistan are safe according to government!

Many Ugandans were worried about the situation of citizens working in the troubled country following the Taliban taking over control.

Uganda received 51 Afghan nationals with no Ugandans on the flight that touched down at Entebbe on Wednesday morning.

However, government has dispelled the fears revealing that many Ugandans had been evacuated by UN to third parties.

The State Minister for Foreign Affairs, John Mulimba in a statement he made on the floor of Parliament on the situation of Ugandans in Afghanistan, evacuees from Afghanistan and situation of Ugandan traders in South Sudan.

Mulimba revealed: “The @Mglsd_UG was contacted to find out whether there were Ugandan nationals externalized to that country. We were informed that none remained in Afghanistan, since their evacuation last year.”

He said: “We established that,Ugandans working with the UN system were evacuated by the UN & taken to third countries. We also established that 10 Ugandans had been evacuated on flights to London. They are now in a 14 day quarantine and thereafter will travel to Uganda.”

The minister stated: “Through our contacts, we further established the presence of two Ugandans in Kabul and arrangements are being made to repatriate them. At this current time the known Ugandans in Afghanistan are only two. We are making every effort to look out for any others.”

Mulimba told the house: “Uganda’s treatment of persons in distress & fleeing their country or place of residence is well known. We believe that no one chooses to flee their country or be a refugee and if they do they must be treated with dignity and kindness in their times of need.”

He went on: “When the Government of Uganda was approached by the United States Government with a request to consider hosting temporarily Afghan nationals and other nationals at risk, the Government of Uganda did not hesitate to accept to consider the request.”

Mulimba confirmed: “This morning 51 evacuees from Afghanistan arrived aboard a privately chartered flight and were received by Government officials and the @usmissionuganda at the Entebbe International Airport. The evacuees who include men, women and children underwent the necessary security screening as well as the mandatory COVID-I9 testing and the required quarantine procedure.”

On evacuees, he said: “The evacuees will remain in Uganda while they are processed by the US Embassy, for their onward journey. It is worth noting that these are not refugees. The processing may take a few weeks or month.”

Mulimba on question of who meets the costs of the evacuees, he said: “The cost of providing for needs and requirements of the evacuees is being met by the US authorities. The Govt will in the coming period continue to engage with the US Embassy in Kampala to extend the necessary assistance to the evacuees from Afghanistan.”