In April 2026, eight people deported from the United States arrived in Uganda after a 16-hour journey. Most did not speak English, had little or no money, and, according to a human rights lawyer who met them, had not been told where they were being taken.

Their arrival followed an Asylum Cooperative Agreement between the United States and Uganda that allows third-country nationals removed from the U.S. to seek protection in Uganda.

In CCIJ’s newly published investigation, journalist Emmanuel Mutaizibwa examines how Uganda became part of the United States’ expanding third-country deportation system and what happened to the people transferred under the agreement.

The investigation follows the experiences of the deportees after their arrival, including concerns about access to legal representation, interpretation and information about their rights. Two of the eight were eventually granted asylum in Uganda, five were voluntarily repatriated to their countries, while one Ethiopian deportee later left Uganda for Kenya.

The story also examines the legal and political questions surrounding the agreement. The Uganda Law Society and East African Law Society challenged it in court, arguing that admitting third-country nationals without a publicly disclosed, rights-compliant refugee-status framework violates Uganda’s Constitution, refugee law and international human rights obligations.

Beyond the deportations themselves, the investigation explores the wider U.S.-Uganda relationship, including recent agreements on health financing, aviation and security, and the arguments by analysts who see these developments as part of a broader transactional relationship between Washington and Kampala.

Read the full investigation by CCIJ here.