No diplomat has been expelled from Britain, the Foreign Office says

The Foreign Office has refuted media reports that a Ugandan diplomat based at the country’s mission in Britain has been expelled by the British government.

The reports indicate that the diplomat is accused of orchestrating a human trafficking operation while exploiting diplomatic immunity by secretly transporting Ugandan women to Britain under the false premise of offering them work as domestic workers.

Reports further claimed that British intelligence had been monitoring the envoy for several months, which ultimately led to their expulsion. This action was reportedly initiated when one of the trafficked women managed to escape and revealed the scheme, along with fraudulent documentation used to facilitate her entry.

Today, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vincent Bagiire, described the reports as ‘misleading’.

“For the avoidance of doubt, “human trafficking is defined as the unlawful act of transporting or coercing people to benefit from their labor or services, usually in the form of forced labor or sexual exploitation. We would first and foremost like to clarify that no Ugandan diplomat has been expelled from the United Kingdom,” Bagiire said in a statement on Friday.

The Permanent Secretary revealed that the diplomats (unnamed) who returned to Uganda had been recalled by the ministry after completing their tour of duty.

“For the record, these diplomats completed their period of service which lasted between three and four years and were duly recalled to headquarters for further service instructions, as is customary in the diplomatic service.”

Under Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the receiving State may at any time, without having to explain its decision, declare a member of the diplomatic staff of a sending State persona non grata. Only under this provision can we use the term expelled when a diplomat is considered unwelcome in the receiving state.

Bagire felt it necessary to repeat this.

“Therefore, the ministry challenges the authors of the misinformation to present to the public the instrument that declared the said diplomats persona non grata.”

For weeks, Ugandan missions in various countries have been hit by a wide range of scandals that have significantly tarnished Uganda’s image abroad.

In August, Ugandan Consul General to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ambassador Henry Mayega and other consulate officials were recalled and investigated after reports emerged that privately purchased casinos shipped under diplomatic cover between Russia and the Middle East ultimately were exploited. at the Ugandan Consulate Building in Dubai.

Days after this scandal, the Canadian government declared Uganda’s ambassador to Canada, Joy Ruth Acheng, persona non grata for alleged undiplomatic behavior.

Shortly after Achieng’s dismissal from Canada, Ugandan diplomats from the embassy in Nigeria were allegedly involved in money laundering.

The scandals place a tough task on Uganda’s Foreign Ministry to clean up the country’s image abroad.