VIDEO: Asians return to Uganda 45 years after 1972 expulsion
What you need to know:
- On Monday afternoon, at about 2pm, some 38 Asians pushed their luggage through the airport to the arrival lounge to meet Great Lakes’ Amos Wekesa and his team who were there to receive them.
45 years is shy of being half a century. So you could understand the emotions when Ramesh Kotecha touched down at Entebbe International Airport. As he was disembarking, he stopped for a few seconds, took a deep breath then took in the breeze off Lake Victoria's fresh waters, his eyes tearing.
Returning to Uganda after all this time for him was an emotional experience, as 45 years ago, the then Uganda President, Idi Amin Dada, made the discomforting ultimatum for Asians, of mostly Indian descent, to leave the country in 90 days.
At the time many could not see how they could begin their lives again out of Uganda and painfully, voluntarily took their lives, some by drowning in River Nile. Such gruesome memories weighed down Kotecha who took steps down the plane staircase, went down on his knees on the ground, bowed his head and kissed the tarmac.
And as he started singing while raising his hands up high, many emulated his actions, many happy to finally be back home, to their home country. On Monday afternoon, at about 2pm, some 38 Asians pushed their luggage through the airport to the arrival lounge to meet Great Lakes’ Amos Wekesa and his team who were there to receive them.