The government will on Monday 18th May 2020 strategize a plan to offer aid to Ugandans stuck abroad. This comes after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed 2400 Ugandans that have so far been registered as stuck abroad after the COVID-19 lockdown. The Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Patrick Mugoya, says this number is lower than what […]
The government will on Monday 18th May 2020 strategize a plan to offer aid to Ugandans stuck abroad.
This comes after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed 2400 Ugandans that have so far been registered as stuck abroad after the COVID-19 lockdown.
The Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Patrick Mugoya, says this number is lower than what the ministry had anticipated.
The registration process that started in April went on for a period of not later than two weeks and mostly targeted Ugandans that were stuck outside in the lockdown for a probable evacuation or support.
The registration entailed biodata, phone contacts, scanned pages of visas, and copies of return tickets, Ugandan passports, current addresses among others.
The government carried out the registration process in the different Ugandan Embassies and High Commissions abroad.
But also did the same for Ugandan citizens leaving on Rwanda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Zambia, Malawi, Comoros Mauritius to register at Ugandan embassies and high commissions.
The embassies mainly reached out to citizens whose return to Uganda was interrupted, to register with them.
However, the Government has clarified that this registration is for possible support like feeding, medical, and negotiations for a visa extension.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Henry Okello Oryem, says the just concluded registration is for Ugandans who were stuck, and not statistics of Ugandans abroad as they had hoped.
“We thought we would register all Ugandans, but we only got those who were genuinely stranded,” said Oryem.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is today expected to address the nation and to talk about the lockdown and may also hint on the issue of Ugandans stuck abroad.
Uganda currently has 248 infections of COVID-19, 63 recoveries, and 0 death.
