Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja was last week asked to explain the fate of a Ugandan migrant worker Agnes Kemigisa who is in detention in one of the prisons in Saudi Arabia.

According to the Youth MP Edson Rugamayo, Katusabe was recruited by Gopro Uganda Ltd for employment in Saudi Arabia on a tourist visa but ended up being imprisoned on August 16, 2023, on allegations of fraud and that she has not received the necessary intervention to enable her to get justice.

Rugumayo asked Parliament to task Nabbanja to explain the fate of the woman and whether the foreign affairs ministry has plans to rescue her.

Nabbanja told the MPs that in 2005, the Government through the gender ministry initiated the Externalisation of Labour Programme with two objectives: To create a safe, formal and regular pathway for Ugandans who chose to seek employment abroad; to establish a short-term window for addressing the unemployment challenge in the country.

According to Nabbanja, under the Employment Recruitment of Ugandan Migrant Workers Regulations, 2O21, workers may travel abroad for work through the following channels: A licensed recruitment company or an Individual initiative where the worker sources for the job as an individual.

In the case of Kemigisa, Nabbanja explained that she was cleared by the Ministry on April 5, 2023, as a domestic worker under Gopro Uganda Ltd on a work visa.

“She arrived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on April 25, 2023, and was subsequently deployed to her employer Noratr Abdullah Bin Fahad Alsahali. It is not true that Kemigisa Agnes travelled on a tourist visa as the Youth MP for Western alleges. All Ugandan migrant workers to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are issued 90-day visas and are subsequently issued with Iqamas (resident permits) upon serving out their probationary contracts. If anyone travelled on a tourist visa and ends up working, that is an anomaly, implying that such a person would have been trafficked,” Nabbanja told Parliament chaired by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa.

Nabbanja explained that on August 29, 2023, the Government received a report from Gopro Uganda Ltd that Kemigisa Agnes had been picked up from her employer's premises by Police on August 16, 2023, on allegations of committing fraud through her phone and was later transferred to a Majaz Women Prison in Riyadh.

“On September 7, 2023, the Government formally contacted the Embassy of Uganda through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to follow up on the plight of Kemigisa and offer the necessary consular support. Upon follow-up, the Embassy informed us that Kemigisa was still in Malaz Women's Prison as Police conducted further investigations. She is yet to be produced in court,” Nabbanja said.

Possible money laundering case

She said, however, preliminary information received is that Kemigisa Agnes made mobile money transactions on her phone over and above what she had so far earned. 

She is being investigated for possible money laundering. 

"Mobile Money transfers are closely monitored in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing,” she said.

However, Nabbanja added that the Ugandan embassy is closely following up on the case and will ensure that Kemigisa is accorded a fair trial by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia authorities.

The premier said the Government has put in place several measures to assist Ugandan domestic workers in distress in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

She said the Bilateral Labour Agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on domestic workers was revised in March 2023 and a Joint Technical Committee (JTC) for monitoring the implementation of the Bilateral Labour Agreement was constituted within two months of signing the Bilateral Agreement.

“With the improved funding for the externalisation of labour this financial year, our priority areas are strengthening monitoring of migrant workers in countries of destination and establishing a greater presence there. We are also in the process of deploying Labour attaches and the attendant support personnel will be recruited locally in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Among the local personnel, there shall be a Sharia lawyer who will provide legal aid to the migrant workers and also represent them in courts and tribunals,” Nabbanja said.

She added that the gender ministry plans to also set up a robust rapid response system for monitoring mechanism, which will grant migrant workers access to an online platform reporting complaints and receiving feedback on a 24-hour basis.

“The online system will be linked to a call centre housed at the ministry. The Government through the ministry is committed to the attainment of safe, orderly and decent migration for all Ugandans destined to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all other destinations.,” she said.