The acting Foreign Affairs Minister, Hon Haruna Kasolo, has revealed that hundreds of Ugandans that were repatriated from South Africa amidst continued xenophobic attacks, are receiving psychological support at the National Leadership Institute (NALI), Kyankwanzi.
While responding to a point of concern raised by Soroti City Woman MP Member of Parliament, Joal Alobo, during plenary on Wednesday on why the returnees are being kept at Kyankwanzi instead of being reunited with their families, Kasolo said the decision was taken after the arrival of the first group, which requested to meet president Museveni.
Hon Alobo’s remarks come amidst growing public concern over the purpose of taking the returnees to Kyankwanzi, which left a netizens on different social media questioning if they were undergoing political orientation at Kyankwanzi as is custom.
Hon Kasolo explained that since the repatriation is being carried out in batches, Kyankwanzi is also currently acting as a single reception and coordination centre to help returnees many of whom lost livelihoods get documentation and debriefing before reintegration into the public.
“When the first group arrived at Entebbe, they indeed requested to have a meeting with the President, and I informed the President and he accepted, but you know we have been bringing these people in bits” he said.
He added, “So we agreed with them that we need to have a one holding ground so that they go, but as we continue talking to them, because you see, these people have been traumatised, talking to them is like a therapy and I tell you they are very appreciative”.
Minister kasolo noted that the returnees were very appreciative with the arrangement, with several others who returned on their own, now requesting to be granted access to Kyankwanzi.
He further told Parliament that Ugandans with legitimate documentation and travel plans in the southern Africa country, can still continue their journeys since the attacks were neither sanctioned nor organised by the South African government.
He however warned that undocumented Ugandans remained at risk of traveling to South Africa.
Minister Kasolo further informed Parliament that as of Wednesday, 880 Ugandans had so far been repatriated from South Africa following the elapse of the June 30th deadline imposed by vigilante pressure groups demanding that all undocumented foreign nationals leave the country.
