12 US Deportees Arrive in Uganda Under New Pact

Twelve deportees from the United States arrived in Uganda on Thursday, marking the first transfers under a bilateral agreement signed between the two countries in August. The group of 12 landed at Entebbe International Airport, about 40 kilometers from the capital, Kampala, aboard a private charter flight, according to the Uganda Law Society.

The arrivals stem from the U.S. administration's policy of sending migrants to third countries where they lack personal or cultural ties, as part of broader efforts to expedite removals of individuals in the country illegally. Ugandan officials have described the arrangement as temporary and focused on deportees of African origin who have been denied asylum in the U.S. but cannot or will not return home. The deal excludes those with criminal records or unaccompanied minors, and the deportees are expected to remain in Uganda temporarily before potential onward movement to other destinations, a senior Ugandan government official said.

No details about the nationalities or identities of the 12 individuals have been released, and their welfare remains unclear. The Uganda Law Society, along with the East Africa Law Society, has condemned the...