Authorities in Kabalae have arrested 83 Congolese and Rwandan nationals for illegal entry into Uganda after they were intercepted around 10am this morning a board a bus registration number UAV 118U belonging to Bismarkan Coaches on their way to Kampala from Kisoro district.
Brian Ampeire, the Kabale District Police Commander, says the suspects include 48 women, 20 children and 15 men. Police staged a roadblock in Kabale town to intercept the bus after a tip off from an informer in Kisoro about the suspicious travelers.
According to Ampeire, the suspects were speaking Kinyarwanda and French, and they didn’t have any travel documents neither did they provide any clear reasons on their destination. They are currently locked up at Kabale Central Police station for questioning.
One of the suspects, says they crossed to Uganda from DR Congo to attend a Christian fellowship in Kampala and that many of their fellows have already arrived in Kampala for the same fellowship.
The development comes just a day after 35 people, including 32 Rwandan and three Congolese nationals were deported for illegal entry into Uganda following a joint security operation involving the army and Police in the areas of Russia, MuLine and Karumena in Kisoro district in the wee hours of Monday morning.
At least 200 people were picked during the operation without identification documents. However, others were released after the screening leaving behind 39 illegal immigrants who were arraigned before Kisoro Grade One Magistrate, Raphael Vueni on Tuesday for illegal entry.
In court, 3 Rwandan suspects and a DRC national pleaded not guilty to the charges and were remanded to Kisoro Government Prison until December 18, 2019, while the remaining 35 suspects pleaded guilty and asked for pardon forcing the magistrate to order immigration to deport them to their respective countries, saying that they should have followed proper procedures to cross into Uganda.
