By Rogers Wanambwa 

KIU, Main Campus – According to Refugees Minister, Esther Anyakun, Uganda is going to host 2,000 Afghan refugees who are currently fleeing the crisis in their country.

Minister Esther Anyakun told the BBC, in an interview, that President Yoweri Museveni agreed to take in the refugees at the request of the United States.

This comes after the Taliban takeover last weekend and the collapse of the federal administration that has been ruling Afghanistan since 2001. 

It is expected that the first group, around 500 Afghans, are expected to have landed at Entebbe International Airport on Tuesday, August 18th.  

Esther emphasized that the arrivals are to be tested for COVID and enter quarantine. Additionally, all logistics and costs will be dealt with by the US government.

Uganda is to become the first African country to take in refugees fleeing the current crisis in Afghanistan.

For a long time, Uganda has been hosting refugees – and is currently home to more than 1.2million people who have fled conflict or other disasters from different countries like South Sudan and Somalia among others. 

Besides, refugees in Uganda reside in settlements or villages alongside the local population. In some circumstances, a number of them are given plots of land and allowed to work.