Security officers at Entebbe International Airport removed 40 migrant workers a board Qatar Airways flight before take-off over fake COVID-19 vaccination cards.

The migrant workers all under Premier Recruitment Ltd, had already boarded the Qatar Airways aircraft but were asked to disembark from the plane. The flight was scheduled for 11am.

The workers, all female Ugandans were traveling to Saudi Arabia for domestic work. A security officer identified as Prima Kalungi reportedly approached the airline crew and said the workers must disembark from the plane because they had presented fake COVID-19 vaccination cards and therefore cannot be allowed to leave the country.

Saudi Arabia requires arriving passengers to present a negative PCR COVID-19 test certificate and must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

As a result, the migrant workers were returned to the company’s head office in Kampala. They left the airport after 5pm. However, the company’s agents at the airport, the port health officers and health workers from Naguru Friendship Hospital who vaccinated the intending travelers on July 2, have been asked to record statements at Aviation Police Station.

Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the spokesperson at the ministry of health said the migrant workers will be retested at Hotel Africana Kampala, and those who test negative will thereafter be cleared to travel.

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By: URN