The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vincent Bagiire Waiswa, has refuted allegations that Ugandan diplomats have never been expelled from the United Kingdom (UK) over alleged human trafficking.
This comes after on Thursday, October 3, 2024, Nile Post, NBS’ sister online publication, published a story highlighting that “The envoy is alleged to have run a personal human trafficking ring under the guise of diplomatic privileges, smuggling Ugandan women into the UK under the pretext of hiring domestic workers.”
In response, on Friday, October 4, 2024, an official letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed to NBS Television and other social media platforms clarified the claims stating that none of the Ugandan deplomats had been expelled from the UK.
“We would like to first and foremost clarify that no Ugandan diplomat has been expelled from the United Kingdom. Under Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, the receiving state may at any time, without having to explain its decision, declare any member of a diplomatic staff of a sending state persona non grata. It’s only under that provision that a diplomat is deemed unwanted in the receiving state that we can use the term expelled,” part of the letter read.
In the same letter, Waiswa challenged the authors of such misleading information to present to the public evidence and instruments that declared the said diplomats persona non grata. However, he clarified that those diplomats they may have seen coming back home in Uganda ended their tour of service or duty that runs between three and four years and were recalled to headquarters in Kampala for further duty instructions as the practice is in diplomatic service.
Nonetheless, on August 21, 2024, Uganda’s envoy to Canada, Ambassador Joy Ruth Acheng, was sent back home by the Canadian government for allegedly getting involved in what they called uncouth behavior while in Canada.
