UK Border Agency accused of trying to deport Ugandan female rape victim

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Human rights campaigners have once again accused the UK Border Agency (UKBA) of trying to deport a vulnerable female asylum seeker to Uganda.

It comes just days after Home Secretary Theresa May announced that UKBA would be scrapped in its existing structure.

Theresa May took the decision in relation to the UK Border Agency’s “defensive” and “secretive” culture.

She’s told MPs on Tuesday that the Border Agency’s performance was “not good enough” and said it would be split in two with its work moved back into the Home Office.

In response to the government’s decision, the Liberal Democrats’ LGBT group said LGBT and general asylum cases needed to be handled better by officials.

For the past several years, human rights groups have frequently documented alleged cases of UKBA deporting LGBT asylum seekers back to countries where they face homophobic persecution.

However, the claims have always been denied by UKBA and the Home Office.

One of the most recent alleged cases involved Jackie Nanyonjo, a lesbian who was deported back to Uganda in January; she died earlier this month in the country.

Campaign group Movement for Justice by Any Means Necessary (MFJ) fought unsuccessfully to prevent her deportation.

MFJ say they are now fighting against the imminent deportation order of another Ugandan asylum seeker who goes by the name of Christine.

The group said: “Christine is in a fight for her life, and her right to live freely, in safety from persecution. In Uganda Christine was subjected to sexual abuse in the family; she gave birth to her father’s child. To be forced back to Uganda means being driven back into that family as she has no one else there.”

MFJ added: “This demonstrates the total hypocrisy of the politicians who claim to be on the side of women and girls, yet continue to lock up and deport a constant flow of women like Christine”.

According to MFJ, Christine is due to be deported on Friday 28 March.

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