At least two heads of the United States and European Union-funded non-governmental organizations in Uganda have been deported on accusations of pursuing or supporting an agenda for regime change.
The first person to be deported was Mr Simon Osborn who was picked up from his apartment in Nakasero in Kampala, detained briefly, and later bundled onto a plane back to his home country.
Mr Osborn had worked in Uganda for seven years as country director of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a United States-based organization that purports to promote democracy across the world. NDI is aligned with the US Democratic party.
Also a Kenyan national, Mr Isaack Othieno, who had taken over as the acting Head of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), a US-based NGO that reportedly engages in the advancement of democracy, had also been deported under unexplained circumstances.
Mr Othieno was reportedly picked up from Sheraton Kampala Hotel where he had been staying temporarily, bundled onto a police vehicle and driven to Busia border with Kenya.
The government also went ahead to block other top NGO officials from returning to Uganda after they had gone out for holiday
Among those whose return has been blocked are Mr Marco Deswart, Ms Roseline Idele and Ms Lara Petrivevic.
Mr Marco Deswart, who heads election programmes at the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF), was reportedly barred from returning to Uganda in July.
Mr Deswart was reportedly informed of his fate through the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Uganda considered him a persona non-grata.
Ms Roseline Idele, who is the acting Country Director of NDI in Uganda, had reportedly been at the front of supporting programmes to strengthen democratic institutions. She was also blocked from returning to Uganda.