Uganda says it received eight US deportees

KAMPALA, April 3 (Reuters) - Uganda said on Friday it had received eight deportees from the United States, the first such transfer after both countries last year signed a bilateral migration cooperation agreement.

• The agreement designates the east African country as a safe third country destination for migrants Washington cannot return to their home countries.

• The foreign ministry said, "eight individuals, whose cases had been reviewed and approved by a USA immigration judge, arrived in Uganda from the USA on 1st April 2026," adding that their other details could not be disclosed due to privacy concerns.

• The deportees are of African origin, the statement said.

• On Thursday the Uganda Law Society, in a post on the X platform, said twelve people had arrived in Uganda, and added the deportees had been subjected to what it described as an "undignified, harrowing and dehumanising process".

• The deportation highlights the expansion of President Donald Trump's third-country deportations policy, which has faced legal and human rights criticisms over concerns it sends individuals to unfamiliar nations with no personal ties.