A court in Masaka has ordered the deportation of 67 Congolese nationals after they were convicted of illegally entering and residing in Uganda without valid travel documents.
The group was arrested on Sunday from Sumayiya Church in Masaka City, where they had gathered for worship, according to court proceedings heard on Tuesday.
The ruling was delivered by Masaka Grade One Magistrate Her Worship Selsa Biwaga, who found that the accused had entered the country without the required immigration documentation.
“The accused persons were found to have entered and remained in Uganda illegally without valid identification documents,” the prosecution led by Abraham Akandehako told court.
Court heard that 54 of the 67 adults were charged, while 13 children were not prosecuted. Most of the accused pleaded guilty to the offence.
However, one of the suspects, Amin Ibrahim, denied the charge, telling the court that he possessed a Ugandan national identity card which he claimed was confiscated during his arrest.
The prosecution asked the court to issue a cautionary sentence and to facilitate their return to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Your Worship, we request that the accused be cautioned and deported to their country of origin,” Mr Akandehako submitted.
Before sentencing, several of the accused pleaded for leniency, telling the court they had fled conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and had lived in Uganda for around two years.
Magistrate Biwaga noted that although illegal entry is punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of three million shillings, imprisonment was not appropriate in the circumstances.
She further considered that many of the accused were women caring for young children.
The court therefore convicted them on their own plea and ordered their deportation.
“They shall be handed over to immigration authorities for repatriation,” she ruled.
The magistrate directed that the group remain in the custody of security agencies until deportation arrangements are completed.
For the one accused who denied the charge, the court instructed him to apply for bail. However, his sureties lacked Local Council identification letters, and his case was adjourned to July 2.
