A look at Uganda, the east African nation where the US is set to deport Abrego Garcia

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda is one of at least four African nations that have agreed to receive immigrants deported from the United States.

The U.S. deported five men with criminal backgrounds to the southern African kingdom of Eswatini and sent eight others to South Sudan. Rwanda has said it will receive up to 250 migrants deported from the U.S.

Now, according to U.S. officials, Uganda is set to receive Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a construction worker who became the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies when he was wrongfully deported in March to a notorious prison in his native El Salvador. He was returned to the U.S. in June, only to face human smuggling charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

Abrego Garcia was detained on Monday and homeland security officials said later he was being processed for transfer to Uganda, a country he has no cultural ties with. Some Ugandans have reacted with incredulity at the looming deportation of the high-profile detainee under an agreement whose terms are yet to be made public. Ugandan officials have only said they prefer to receive individuals originally from Africa and without a criminal background.

Here is a brief look at Uganda, an east African country of 45 million people.

An authoritarian leader

Ugandan negotiators involved in talks with the U.S. are believed to have been reporting directly to President Yoweri Museveni, an authoritarian who has been in power since 1986. The ruling party controls the national assembly, which is widely seen as weak and subservient to the presidency. In 2017 lawmakers removed a constitutional age limit on the presidency, leaving room for Museveni, who is 80, to rule for as long as he wishes.

Museveni is up for reelection in a presidential vote scheduled for January 2026. One of his long-time opponents, Kizza Besigye, has been jailed since November over treason charges his supporters say are politically motivated. His other opponent, the entertainer known as Bobi Wine, says he is harassed and unable to campaign across the country. Some critics say the agreement with the U.S. is a blessing for Museveni, who recently was under pressure from the international community over rights abuses and other issues.

Museveni says criticism of his long stay in power is unjustified because he is reelected every five years. Notably, he has a large following in rural areas, where Ugandans cite relative peace and security among reasons to keep him in power.

A young population

Uganda has the second-youngest population in the world, with more than three quarters of its people below the age of 35, according to the U.N. children’s agency. The results of a national census conducted last year show that 50.5% of Ugandans are children aged 17 and under and those between 18 and 30 account for 22.7% of the population. Many Ugandans migrate from rural areas to seek education and work opportunities in the capital, Kampala, a crowded city of 3 million where the primary form of public transport are passenger motorcycles known as boda-bodas. The development of public infrastructure, including hospitals, has not kept pace with a growing population.

A lush nation once described as ‘the pearl of Africa’

After a 1907 visit to Uganda, Winston Churchill famously called the country “the pearl of Africa,” a tribute to its natural beauty and abundant wildlife.

Much of that abundance has been lost over the decades, but the country remains an attractive destination for safari visitors who come to see, especially, the endangered mountain gorillas. Uganda is home to about half the world’s remaining great apes, which can be tracked for a fee in a mountainous zone near the border with Rwanda and Congo.

A ‘rolex’ to eat

Uganda’s popular street snack, the “rolex,” is an omelet wrapped in chapati, a type of pan-fried flatbread. While a favorite among Ugandans, the snack has become the fascination for foreigners, some of whom have written about eating their rolex.

Rolex makers can be found in every town across Uganda, usually men who otherwise would be jobless if they didn’t take up such an opportunity. Their stands, illuminated by the red heat of charcoal rising from stoves, light up streets and dark alleys in Kampala at night.

Homosexuality is taboo

In 2023, Ugandan lawmakers passed a bill imposing lengthy jail terms for same-sex relations, a move that reflected popular sentiment but drew international criticism from the U.S. and the World Bank. “Congratulations,” Parliament Speaker Anita Among told lawmakers after passing the bill. “Whatever we are doing, we are doing it for the people of Uganda.” Months later, Among was among high-profile Ugandans targeted for sanctions by the Biden administration.

Same-sex activity has long been punishable with life imprisonment under a colonial-era law, but Among and other Ugandan officials argued that a harsh new law was necessary to deter what they described as promoters of homosexuality. They had the president’s backing.

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AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa