KAMPALA, Uganda
An Eritrean national Ali
Hassan Hida has been arrested by the Aviation Police (Avipol) with over 80
Eritrean passports.
Hida was apprehended by the
Avipol and immigration team at Entebbe airport two days ago after failing to
provide a plausible explanation about the owners of the passports.
According to Simon Peter
Mundeyi, the Internal Affairs ministry spokesperson, Hida was entering Uganda
via Entebbe airport with a heavy bag containing the passports. Thereafter,
security officials initiated an investigation to determine whether the owners
of the passports are already residing in Uganda or if they intended to use
Entebbe as a transit point.
Authorities have noted that there have been numerous instances of Eritreans
living in Uganda utilizing Entebbe airport as a gateway to other countries.
Many of these Eritreans initially arrived in Uganda as refugees but have
subsequently found ways to migrate to Europe, particularly Norway, where they
seek and obtain refugee status and eventually become citizens.
It is not only Eritreans who have been implicated in using Entebbe airport for
transit purposes. There have been several cases involving Ethiopians who have
been apprehended with Ethiopian passports at the airport, often without a clear
destination or purpose for their travel.
Additionally, there have been
instances where foreigners have forged or fraudulently acquired Ugandan
passports. One recent incident involved the arrest of Gadiel Ishime, a
29-year-old male music artist from Burundi. Ishime initially entered Uganda in
August 2015 using a Burundian passport but later fraudulently acquired a
Ugandan national identity card by falsely declaring himself as a Munyankole
from Kiruhura district.
Ishime was apprehended at Busia border post while attempting to travel to Germany
using a Ugandan passport. Another case involved Joshua David Saunders; a
27-year-old Nigerian male involved in the computer industry. Saunders, who
frequently visited Uganda as a tourist, managed to fraudulently acquire a
Ugandan national ID and passport.
During his arrest, it was revealed that he had presented Gibson Sseruwagi as a
relative during the passport acquisition process, leading to Sseruwagi's arrest
as well. Similarly, a Rwandan national, Sam Kaliisa, 29, was apprehended for
impersonating someone named Shafiq and using their details to acquire a Ugandan
national ID and passport.
Mundeyi issued a stern warning to Ugandans involved in assisting foreigners in
obtaining national IDs and passports, emphasizing that they would face arrest
and prosecution. The immigration department also cautioned individuals against
attempting to manipulate the system, assuring the public that their systems are
robust and anyone attempting to deceive them would be apprehended.
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