The government has described the fate of some 30 Ugandans trapped behind enemy lines in the restive Myanmar as precarious and there is “no definitive timeline” on when engagements to release them will yield results.
John Mulimba, the State Minister for Regional Affairs told Parliament that the same fate awaits hundreds of Ugandans stranded in India and elsewhere in Egypt, matters made worse by the absence of a fund to support Ugandans abroad in distress.
The Minister told parliament that Ugandans who are reported were trafficked to Myanmar to serve in these rebel movements as mercenaries.
Mulimba and diplomatic sources said the victims were lured with the promise of lucrative jobs in Malaysia and Thailand only to end up drafted to fight against the military junta.
The Southeast Asian country slid into chaos after the military declared a state of emergency after deposing the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.
Mulimba revealed that he engaged the visiting Myanmar deputy prime minister and Union Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Than Swe, on the sidelines of the recently concluded Non-Aligned Movement summit on the matter but the meeting did not yield much.
Meanwhile, Mulimba revealed that there are some 200 Ugandans, the majority females, stranded in India, mostly victims of trafficking.
They were trafficked under the guise of jobs while another 60 Ugandans need evacuation from Egypt
