Entebbe airport must fix extortion claims

For more than half of this week, Ugandans have taken to Twitter and other social media platforms to call out the staff at Entebbe International Airport for what appears to be unfair treatment, unprofessionalism and extortion both at the departure and arrival sections.

An overwhelming number of people took turns to narrate, both in video and text, what they have gone through at the hands of unscrupulous airport staff that abuse their power and shake down travellers for money, usually in US dollars, strictly, before they are allowed to board their flights or cleared to go home. Many Ugandans reported missing their flights even when they checked in on time with every requisite document.

One Twitter user writes that in Uganda one can get a visa from an embassy only for an airport employee to stop one from boarding, until you bribe them with ($100-$200). The tweep goes on to post a picture of an employee said to be key in tormenting Ugandans travelling through Entebbe Airport and asking for bribes.

One of the clips that went viral shows a female airport worker texting on her phone while on her till. She then places the phone away to work on one traveller before picking up the phone again shortly afterwards, leaving waiting travellers frustrated.  In another clip, a male airport staff is recorded during a negotiation in which a panicking traveller says he can only raise Shs400,000 to send to his MTN line.

Other than the nefarious extortions that need to be dealt with harshly, it appears that there is need for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to review the kind of information required by airport staff from travellers exiting Uganda as this matter seems to be one of the most contentious. If one already has a visa to visit a certain country, why then should staff at the airport ask the traveller where and why they are traveling? Do they not trust the embassies that issued those visas? It is easy to see why such unjustified questioning paves way for unscrupulous officials to extort from desperate travellers.

These online complaints have a bearing on the image of the country in a world that is so connected like ours today. We may never know how many tourists will change their mind after this public criticising of the services at our only international airport. Entebbe airport is an important public relations spot for the country and we should treat it as such.