Uganda has repatriated more than 1100 of its citizens from South Africa as part of an emergency evacuation prompted by rising xenophobic violence and anti migrant protests.
The operation began with a first group of 273 Ugandans who arrived at Entebbe International Airport on a chartered Uganda Airlines flight from O R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Subsequent flights have brought in additional groups as the government works through a list of nationals who registered for voluntary return.
According to Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Uganda High Commission in Pretoria the repatriation was ordered by President Yoweri Museveni to safeguard the lives and welfare of Ugandans living in South Africa. Officials said the government is covering the full cost of the evacuation including flights and immediate reception support on arrival.
The exercise is being coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister the Ministry of Internal Affairs the Ministry of Works and Transport and the High Commission in Pretoria. Authorities said more than 800 Ugandans initially registered for repatriation and that the figure later rose to around 1200 as fears grew over the protests and attacks.
Ugandan returnees are being received at Entebbe and transferred to temporary accommodation centres where they are profiled and offered basic support including food medical checks and psychosocial counselling for trauma. Government officials told lawmakers that this rehabilitation is necessary to help citizens recover from the violence and uncertainty they faced in South Africa.
The evacuation follows a fresh wave of anti immigrant marches and xenophobic incidents in several South African cities where some groups issued deadlines for undocumented foreigners to leave. Uganda now joins other African countries such as Nigeria Ghana Malawi Mozambique Zambia and Namibia that have launched similar repatriation programmes for their nationals in response to the unrest.
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