Ugandan in UK protests deportation to Rwanda

A Ugandan refugee only identified as Harriette told Sky News  that asylum seekers who are going to be deported to Rwanda “are being sent to their death.”

“It’s like they are sending them to their death, because it’s just not clear what these guys are thinking. To send people to die while they are watching, are they ready to carry on blood of the people each and every one going to that country tomorrow?” Harriette said before she asked: “If they felt their country was safe, why would I leave Uganda and leave Rwanda and come to the UK, I would have crossed to Rwanda?” she asked.  

“But I felt it was not safe, because I have been there before. I have led protest against this. All protests that I have tried to up laws against LGBT in East Africa at large, I know what the community thinks,”   Harriette added.

Rwanda President Paul Kagame told a virtual seminar organised by Brown University in April that his country is only trying to help and was approached because of its past experience in handling immigrants and according to With in Nigeria, an online news agency, denounced claims that the deal was about ”trading humans beings” .

“We were approached because of this history and because of what we managed with the Libya case. So, it would be mistaken for people to just make a conclusion, ‘oh, you know, Rwanda got money’,” Mr Kagame said.

“It’s not trading. We are not, please. This is not the case. We are actually helping,” he said.
The first flight removing asylum seekers from the UK was yesterday due to depart for Rwanda despite widespread protests.

The leadership of Church of England led by Archbishop Justin Welby and his senior colleagues united in condemning the planned deportation and branded the immigration policy “immoral” even as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused lawyers defending failed asylum seekers of abetting criminal gangs.

The head of United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Mr Filippo Grandi, also condemned the UK policy as “all wrong” and accused Boris’ administration of “exporting its responsibility to another country”.

UK vows to pursue asylum policy after Rwanda flight cancelled

Britain vowed Wednesday it would pursue its controversial policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda after a first flight was cancelled following a legal ruling, in an embarrassing blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government.

The number of those due to be put on the flight on Tuesday had dwindled from an original 130 to seven and finally none after a last-minute order by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

British Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was disappointed that "legal challenge and last-minute claims" meant the plane did not take off but insisted the heavily criticised programme would go ahead.

“We will not be deterred," she said in a statement.

"Our legal team are reviewing every decision made on this flight and preparation for the next flight begins now."

The grounding followed an ECHR ruling that at least one of the asylum seekers should stay in Britain as there were no guarantees for his legal future in Rwanda, an East African country thousands of miles (kilometres) away.

Patel called the ECHR intervention "very surprising" and vowed that "many of those removed from this flight will be placed on the next".

Rwanda also said it remained committed to taking in the asylum seekers under the April deal, which has come under fire from the UN, rights groups and church leaders.

*Additional reporting by AFP