The first group of Ugandans fleeing renewed xenophobic violence in South Africa has finally arrived home, as Government launched a major evacuation operation to rescue hundreds of citizens caught up in the unrest. A total of 273 Ugandans touched down at Entebbe International Airport aboard a special Uganda Airlines charter flight at around 2:00 a.m., […]
The first group of Ugandans fleeing renewed xenophobic violence in South Africa has finally arrived home, as Government launched a major evacuation operation to rescue hundreds of citizens caught up in the unrest.
A total of 273 Ugandans touched down at Entebbe International Airport aboard a special Uganda Airlines charter flight at around 2:00 a.m., becoming the first beneficiaries of a Government-led repatriation programme ordered by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
Many of the returnees had registered for voluntary evacuation following reports of renewed attacks targeting foreign nationals in parts of South Africa.
Government officials led by Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Haruna Kasolo Kyeyune welcomed the exhausted returnees at the airport alongside Acting Defence Public Information Director Col. Chris Magezi and representatives from several government agencies coordinating the operation.
Kasolo assured Ugandans still stranded in South Africa that the evacuation exercise is far from over.
“As we welcome home the first group of our compatriots, I wish to reassure all Ugandans that the evacuation exercise remains ongoing,” he said.
Government says more than 800 Ugandans have already signed up to return home, with additional charter flights already lined up over the next few days.
Uganda’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Paul Amoru, revealed that the second evacuation flight will leave South Africa early Friday carrying 35 Ugandans, while a third charter scheduled later the same day will bring home another 114 evacuees.
The evacuation operation is being jointly coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Works and Transport, the Uganda High Commission in Pretoria and leaders of the Ugandan community in South Africa.
Uganda Airlines has been tasked with operating the special rescue flights, with Government meeting the full cost of transporting stranded Ugandans back home.
Meanwhile, officials at the Uganda High Commission in Pretoria continue registering Ugandans seeking evacuation, operating temporary assembly centres and issuing emergency travel documents to those who lost or do not have valid passports.
Government says it is also maintaining close contact with South African authorities as efforts continue to protect Ugandans who have decided to remain in the country despite the violence.
With hundreds more Ugandans still awaiting evacuation, officials say the rescue mission will continue until every registered citizen who wishes to return home has been safely brought back to Uganda.
