The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Labour export companies have said that there are no Ugandans working in Afghanistan.
Many Ugandans have been working in the central Asian country over the years, having gone through different arrangements, according to the Uganda Association of External Recruitment Agencies (UAERA).
The association’s head of communications Ronnie Mukundane says none of their member agencies that are recognized by the government has recruited any Ugandan working in Afghanistan. According to Mukundane, workers who were recruited by their member agencies returned from Afghanistan after their contracts expired.
On Wednesday, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs John Mulimba said an unspecified number of Ugandans remain stranded in Afghanistan, with some currently seeking to return home.
Between 2001 and 2015, hundreds of Ugandans left the country to offer several services mainly under the auspices of the United States government which was leading the fight against the Taliban. They were employed as security guards at the US installations and some Afghan government facilities.
In 2013 for example, Watertight Security Services, which took 300 Ugandans to Afghanistan said they were being deployed to provide non-combat security services to boost other security firms.
However, Mukundane says while there could be Ugandans in Afghanistan, it could be for many reasons, including being there unofficially, like it has been happening in countries not recognized as labour markets by the Ugandan government.
Uganda received the first batch of 51 evacuees from Afghanistan on Wednesday morning, as part of an estimated total of 2000, under an arrangement between the government and the US government.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had been the intention of bringing home some of the Ugandans along, but logistical issues prevented this.
“Whereas it had been arranged for some Ugandans to travel on the above flight, due to the challenges of accessing the airport in Kabul, they were unable to make it. Arrangements are being made to bring them in the subsequent flight,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Tension amongst Afghans and foreign nationals intending to leave the country for safety increased on Tuesday when Taliban officials announced that they would not allow experts to leave the country.
Last year, a big part of the 300 Ugandan guards employed by Triple Canopy, a private security company, to man watchtowers and provide security at entry points in Eastern Afghanistan, tested positive with coronavirus.
The efforts to evacuate them were hampered by the closure of borders, according to, a U.S. military’s independent news source in Afghanistan, Europe and the Far East.
An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 Ugandans left for Iraq and Afghanistan from 2005 to 2010, according to records.
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