The government advises against releasing photographs of Afghan evacuees.

Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned Ugandans against photographing and publishing Afghan evacuees in the country. Any such conduct, according to the minister, may be construed as a security threat.

John Mulimba, the State Minister for Regional Cooperation, made the comment while briefing parliament on the condition of people evacuated from Afghanistan. The first group of 51 people arrived in the nation early yesterday morning on a chartered jet, as the US prepares to airlift thousands of people out of Afghanistan before a self-imposed deadline of August 31.

Following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, the US government requested that Uganda temporarily host at-risk Afghan nationals and other nationalities in transit to the US and other locations throughout the world. According to previous claims from officials in Uganda’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, the US government requested that Uganda take in up to 2,000 refugees.

Mulimba stated that some of the evacuated individuals may be wanted by the Taliban administration, and that photographing them could endanger their lives, as well as the need for media outlets to report with caution because the topic involves national security concerns.

“I need to make an appeal to honorable colleagues, the country, and especially the media houses that the evacuees, who are now stateless, are stressed people who require some form of care so that they can recover,” he said in part.

State Minister Mulimba told parliament that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had undertaken steps to establish the status of Ugandans in Afghanistan, and that he had subsequently learned that ten Ugandans working in the United Nations-UN system had been evacuated on an aircraft to London, United Kingdom. He stated that they are now in the 14-day quarantine period and will proceed to Uganda after that.

Parliament also learned that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has discovered through its contact that there are now two Ugandans in Kabul, and that plans are in the works to repatriate them. He stated that efforts are still being made to determine whether or whether there are any additional Ugandans in Afghanistan.

The Afghan evacuees will remain in Uganda while the US Embassy processes them for their further voyage, according to Mulimba. He also stated that the government will continue to work with the US Embassy in Kampala in the coming months to provide the essential assistance to Afghan evacuees.

“It’s important to note that they aren’t refugees. It’s possible that the processing will take a few weeks or months. The cost of meeting the evacuees’ needs and requirements is covered by the US government, he stated.