A local official in northern Uganda says that the government there will not tolerate espionage and covert activities that may harm refugees, according to a Ugandan newspaper report today.
The deportation of an opposition official from Kenya earlier this month has caused widespread fear and even hysteria among some diaspora and refugee communities over the possibility that dissidents or persons belonging to certain ethnicities could be targeted even after seeking safety in neighboring countries.
Uganda’s Daily Monitor reports that fear has “engulfed” Adjumani District where thousands of refugees have recently arrived from South Sudan amid rumours that “a group of spies from South Sudan infiltrated refugee camps in the district.”
Josephine Angucia, the police spokesperson for North Western region, during a recent community meeting in Adjumani District dismissed reports of South Sudan spies infiltrating refugee camps.
But another local official was quoted as saying that the danger from South Sudanese security operatives in the region is real.
James Leku, the chairman of the border district said his office “received information about South Sudan spies who repeatedly cross into the district to spy on their fellow citizens with the intention of repatriating those who are suspected of being involved in subversive activities against the war-torn state,” according to the Ugandan press report.
The official said, “I have heard of strange people who have entered into our district with ill intentions of arresting and repatriating refugees to South Sudan to torture and jail them.”
He warned that spying on refugees in a country where they sought asylum is criminal and those involved, if arrested, would be dealt with under the laws of Uganda. He was on Monday speaking during a public dialogue at Multi-Purpose Youth Centre in Adjumani.
For her part, Josephine Angucia, the police spokesperson for North Western region, emphasized that refugees are protected by the law. “Anyone who tampers with their peaceful stay in Uganda will be arrested and taken to court.”
File photo: South Sudan’s National Security Service Headquarters