Prime
Enforce immigration and labour laws
Ugandan migrant workers wait for clearance at Entebbe International Airport in 2018. Photo | File
What you need to know:
- Ji Zong Wu 51, a Chinese migrant worker is said to have contracted a strange disease, which claimed his life on September 11, for which his widow, Wang Young Yie, has filed a civil suit in the High Court seeking special and exemplary damages for the death of her husband.
There has in the last few days been a ping pong of words between Mahathi Infra Uganda, a subsidiary of Mahathi Infra India, which is associated with the vice-chairman of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) in charge of Eastern Uganda, Capt Mike Mukula, and the widow of a Chinese national, Ji Zong Wu.
Ji Zong Wu 51, a Chinese migrant worker is said to have contracted a strange disease, which claimed his life on September 11, for which his widow, Wang Young Yie, has filed a civil suit in the High Court seeking special and exemplary damages for the death of her husband.
That is now a matter for the courts to decide, but the case once again brings to light questions around the mechanisms that we have put in place to enforce both our immigration and labour laws.
The deceased, a wood cutting machine mechanic entered Uganda in March last year on a tourist visa. Tourist visa are usually valid for 90 days from the date of entry. How then could Ji Zong have stayed in Uganda for 18 months without being detected?
Whereas there are provisions for multiple-entry visas with longer validity, those require additional documents that include police clearance, letters of recommendations from two Ugandans and proof of entries and exits.
There is no evidence that those had been submitted to facilitate extending his stay.
Who at the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration was sleeping on the job? Or was the entire Directorate that went to sleep?
Lawyers representing Wang Young Yie argue that her husband was trafficked into Uganda. His travel documents were reportedly withdrawn. His lack of knowledge of the local languages and dialects also worked against him.
That is not new. It has been known for a while now that most of the so called expatriate workers that are brought in by our investors are kept in some form of captivity. Their travel documents and work permits are “kept” for them by their employers.
Those in authority should not look by as some of these injustices are perpetuated. Most of us usually get justifiably angry when we read tales of mistreatment of Ugandans exported as labour to the Middle East. That anger should not only be seen when one of us is a victim. It should be seen whenever a human being is a victim. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
Having good immigration and labour laws on the statute books is not good enough. We must enforce them.
