(AFMF/IFEX) – A Canadian journalist who was on 9 March 2006 deported by Ugandan authorities after his journalistic work and presence in the country was described as “a threat to security”, got a rude shock on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi after Immigration officials denied him entry into the country. Blake Lambert, […]
(AFMF/IFEX) – A Canadian journalist who was on 9 March 2006 deported by Ugandan authorities after his journalistic work and presence in the country was described as “a threat to security”, got a rude shock on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi after Immigration officials denied him entry into the country.
Blake Lambert, a correspondent for “The Economist” magazine, among other international publications, spent more than 28 hours in the transit lounge because as the immigration officials put it, he was “persona non grata” by virtue of having been deported by a member of the East African Community, Uganda.
Lambert had just returned to Uganda from South Africa on 9 March only to be told verbally that his work and continued presence in Uganda posed a threat to security. He was not served any official letter giving reasons for his deportation.
Lambert’s fallout with the authorities started a few months ago when the government-owned Media Centre refused to renew his accreditation. The centre, managed by Mr Robert Kabushenga also curtailed the accreditation period of British Broadcasting Corporation’s Will Ross from one year to four months.
