It is saddening that the majority of 95% of the staff at Entebbe Airport are always looking for possible ways to extort money from Ugandans exiting the country.
The extortion at the country’s main airport is alludes to delayed allowances and salaries. The immigration officers allegedly ask for as low as Shs 50,000, $100 and more over unreasonable claims. They fault passengers for the sightless gesture to make them miss flights.
Passengers claim that an immigration officer identified as Prima should be relieved of her duties. She is accused of confiscating passports even when passengers have all the requirements for their particular destination.
A lot more people are complaining about the loot at the airport and asked the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to borrow a leaf from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where the staff help passengers in a bid not to miss flights.
“Countless times they will even beg your Airline not to leave you, unlike Entebbe Airport where they will even fool you to re-book your flight yet they know they have deliberately delayed you. Lots of people miss life-changing opportunities because of people like Prima and the rest,” Mpiima Kalinda Mugambe said.
In Uganda, you can get a visa from an embassy only for an airport employee to stop you from boarding, until you bribe them with ($100-$200).
It is averred that Bob Byamugisha has been at the core of tormenting Ugandans traveling through Entebbe Airport and asking for bribes.
“The Airport staff is so annoying. It happened when my friend Musa Atagenda was escorting his Wakiso Giants FC player for trials abroad. The player was sent back on flimsy grounds. I intervened and he traveled. I said I will continue to engage. Surprisingly Ngobi Benard abused me.” Asan Kasingye, a former Uganda police officer said.
Yesterday, UCAA promised to investigate the allegations and asked individuals to avail them of all the possible evidence to hold the alleged officers culpable. The airport has cameras placed in strategic places for security reasons and to enable UCAA to address such issues when they occur.
“UCAA facilitates operations at Entebbe International Airport, this is done in liaison with several independent providers of key services, including, but not limited to Immigration, handling agents (NAS and DAS), airlines, Ministry of Health through port health, Security agencies, URA customs, and Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (Labour externalization agents), among others,” read part of the statement.
“Unfortunately, none of the regurgitated trending videos specifically states a particular checkpoint, time, and day and flight details of when the alleged extortion may have taken place. This would help the investigations. We are contacting the parties in the TikTok videos to share with us information that can guide us to take quick action. In the past, we have investigated similar generalized claims made on TikTok, but unfortunately, no specific information was established to corroborate the claims,” added a statement.
