Kawempe North member of parliament Hon Latif Ssebagala has accused the government of Uganda for neglecting Ugandans who are in China.
His comments came as a result of an outbreak of the Wuhan Virus in China which has claimed lives of many people in that country.
“As of today 910 deaths have been reported by CNN. These are just the statistics there could be many more unreported,” he said.
He said the Chinese government has tried to contain the virus and put measures of preventing it’s spread.
He also added that other countries have gone the extra mile to protect their nationals in China and even evacuate them.
“For Ugandans in Wuhan, their cries have not yet been heard by the government. There are about 71 Ugandans living in Wuhan most of which are students who went there to seek an education,” he said.
He said that his team reached out to the Ugandans in Wuhan more especially Thomas a medical student who has been trying to raise awareness about the plight of Ugandans in Wuhan through the hashtag #EvacuateUgandansInWuhan.
“The situation these Ugandans are going through is very disheartening.They went to seek an education but now they are fighting for their lives all by themselves,” he said.
He said some of these Ugandans in China their food supplies will run out on soon.
“Thomas has received threats from various entities asking him to desists from talking about this issue. He risks expulsion from his University in China because of being vocal about this issue,” he said.
He added: “After the Chinese government lockdown ,the transport system in Wuhan is now unfunctional. No planes, or trains can move in or out of Wuhan which has made access to any basic needs impossible. Thomas says he has to move for about 6km to reach the nearest supermarket which might not even have groceries after moving all the way.”
Ssebagala said Ugandans in Wuhan are even scared of interacting with each other since they can’t trust anyone.
“All they are doing is self isolation. They are stranded, scared, frightened and helpless.Other African countries have moved to evacuate their nationals but the Ugandans in Wuhan feel abandoned by the government,” he said.
He called upon the Ugandan government to reach out to these people and assure them of safety and even see ways of how to help them out with immediate effect.
“If the government is not prepared to handle the evacuation process of these people then they should put in place measures to help and provide relief to them until the situation normalizes,” he said.
