The National Unity Platform (NUP) president, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine, repatriated the first group of Ugandans who had been detained in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday (UAE).
The first group included 12 Ugandans who, according to Kyagulanyi, had been incarcerated at Al Awir Deportation Jail for several months.
The returnees were welcomed at Kyagulanyi's Magere home, where they shared heartbreaking accounts of how they ended up in Arab prison centres.
Robert Kyagulanyi listens to the harrowing stories of the returnees
Many of the returnees, some of them unable to walk, stated that they had escaped dehumanizing conditions in the residences where they had gone to work and turned themselves in to Dubai police.
Kyagulanyi told the journalists at his home in Magere that this should be a national and African call, as many Ugandans and other Africans are still incarcerated in Dubai and across the UAE.
"I encourage all leaders, political parties, religious institutions, the business community and all people of good-will to pick interest in the plight of our people stuck in detention in the Middle East and support their return home," Kyagulanyi said.
While on a tour to Dubai last week, the NUP president and former presidential candidate said in a Facebook post that many Ugandans whose visas had expired were living in appalling conditions in over 21 detention centres around the UAE, and begged the government to assist them in returning home.
Kyagulanyi had come to Dubai for a charity concert, the earnings of which were to be used to purchase air tickets for stranded Ugandans and other nationals, but the concert was canceled by Dubai officials for reasons not divulged.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The NUP president, on the other hand, blamed Ugandan officials for his cancelled event, claiming that they influenced his hosts to cancel it.
Following his return to Kampala after the failed concert, Kyagulanyi began a fundraising effort, urging Ugandans to donate any amount to help other countrymen and women incarcerated in the UAE (especially Dubai).
After only one week, the drive seemed to have generated dividends, with the repatriation of the first 12 Ugandans.
More batches are anticipated in the country soon, according to NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya.
Kyagulanyi urged Ugandans with financial means to donate to their efforts and aid in the repatriation of more Ugandans and Africans.
The NUP president disclosed that he had met with Opposition Leader Mathias Mpuuga and that they had decided that every NUP MP would provide at least one air ticket to a stranded Ugandan.
