Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has given Shs 9 million to the return of the body of a deceased Ugandan migrant worker held in Saudi Arabia.
The speaker also charged the Parliamentary Committee on Gender, Labour, and Social Development with investigating corporations involved in labor export.
Idah Nantaba, a Kayunga Woman MP, had earlier brought a petition to Parliament on November 9, 2022, calling for the repatriation of the remains of a Ugandan, Lydia Ayila, who died in Saudi Arabia.
Nantaba stated in her appeal that the dead was her constituent and died under mysterious circumstances, which worried her family.
The Kayunga Woman MP stated that the family was also distraught because they lacked them shs 12.5 million required to return the body in order to afford the deceased a decent burial back home.
Speaker Among directed the Ministry of Gender on Wednesday to demand the company that employed the now-deceased Ayila to pay for her repatriation.
Nantaba, on the other hand, informed the Speaker that the ministry had already provided shs 3.8 million of the required sum. She stated that if the repatriation charges were not paid by Thursday, November 23, 2022, the Saudi government planned to bury the deceased in Saudi Arabia.
Nantaba was accompanied by the late Ayila's mother.
Speaker Among was swiftly mobilized, and funds were transferred to prevent the deceased from being burial in Saudi Arabia.
The Speaker, on the other hand, has asked for probes into labor export organizations, particularly those that transport Ugandans to Saudi Arabia, citing tales of mysterious deaths of Ugandan casual laborers.
Among other things, he requested an in-depth investigation into the matter and charged the relevant committee with reporting back to Parliament.
