Three German nationals were picked up recently by the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration for working in Uganda illegally. The trio, whose identities have been withheld were working for Konrad Adenauer Stiftung-KAS at their Uganda -South Sudan offices in Kampala.
According to people who spoke to URN on condition of anonymity to speak freely, the three were arrested about two weeks ago for visa violation. Two of the Germans entered Uganda on a tourist visa while the other had a student visa. The one on the student visa claimed that he was studying at Makerere University.
Instead, they had been working with KAS without the mandatory work permits for foreigners working in the country. “The three alleged that they were on an unpaid internship but, they were drawing salaries off the record yet they were not paying pay as you earn,” the source said.
Contacted for a comment, KAS neither denied nor acknowledged that they have been illegally employing non-Ugandans at their offices. In response to our questions, KAS said in an email which it didn’t attribute to anybody that it is a law-abiding organisation.
“KAS is a law-abiding organization that firmly believes in and ensures that all laws of our host country are respected and complied with. We ensure that all staff of KAS comply with the laws of Uganda, including but not limited to compliance with immigration laws,” KAS said in response to our questions.
The organizations also noted that they have projects with tertiary institutions in Uganda where they provide study opportunities to Ugandans. This was in response to an accusation that they collude with education institutions in Uganda to provide short-term courses to German nationals to come to Uganda and then illegally employ them.
“This program is intended to improve the livelihoods of Ugandans and is not used to violate any laws. KAS is committed to and adheres to all laws of Uganda,” KAS’ response reads. Contacted for a response, Simon Peter Mundeyi, the spokesperson of the Directorate of Immigration confirmed that indeed they carried out raids at KAS although he was quick to add that there is nothing extraordinary about this operation.
“On that day when we were at Konrad Adenauer, we also carried out similar visits to other offices and factories to see whether the people they were employing didn’t violate immigration laws. We do that work every day because it’s part of our core mandate,” Mundeyi said.
When asked about the fate of the arrested, Mundeyi said they are still investigating. “When we arrest people for working in the country illegally, we carry out investigations and then we produce them in court. I think by next week, we shall have taken them to court,” Mundeyi said.
However, our source indicated to us that the three had already been charged, fined US$650, and then ordered to leave the country. KAS is a Germany-based nongovernmental that supports work on democracy, rule of law and human rights among others.