KAMPALA – Ugandan ex-servicemen who previously served in peacekeeping missions in Iraq and Afghanistan want the US government to compensate them for payments they claim to have accrued as a result of underpayment during their time of service.
Victor Musinguzi, the chairperson of the Special Returnees Association(SRA), their umbrella body said that most of their members also suffered abuses including rape, exploitation, and other unacceptable human rights violations under the watch of the US government.
“We received contracts from the United States Department of Defense (DOD) to offer security services for force protection efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan on behalf of the USA. They were contracted by EODT, SOC, and other companies operating in Iraq, as well as Askar Security Services Limited, a Ugandan company acting as a source of employees for EODT. Their belief that this mission would bring about positive change quickly turned into disappointment and despair,” said Mr. Musinguzi said a press conference in Kampala.
Askar was the Ugandan company that had recruited most of them, trained them, and contracted them to EOD Technology, which in turn was contracted by the U.S. Department of Defense.
In a statement read to reporters, Musinguzi also an ex-serviceman said many Ugandans returned home with physical and psychological injuries, and that they didn’t access any form of compensation partly because the companies that contracted them never disclosed details on workman’s compensation.
Whereas, they received letters of authorization from the United States Department of Defense outlining clear working conditions and benefits that they would accrue. Paperwork seen by this website indicates the employees were graded under two rate categories including GS-12 and GS-13.
The GS-12 and GS-13 payment rate which is uniform for all civil servants under the same category would translate to an annual payment of $ 56, 999 to $ 80, 000 per year.
“However, upon reaching our areas of work, they were forced into signing subsequent employment contracts with significantly less favorable conditions and they ended up being paid salaries ranging from $ 4800 to $ 12,000 per year,” Musinguzi said.
“ Those that refused to sign the new employment contracts having realized the cheating and exploitation involved, were sacked, their contracts terminated and immediately deported back home. This act left many of our members in fear and with no option but to sign the new contracts with these US Security companies. The highest paid among them earned a mere USD 1,000 per month, while the lowest paid earned a meager $ 350, both falling far below the agreed terms in the original letters of authorization.”
Other promises of medical care to address the physical and mental anguish suffered during their work turned out to be empty rhetoric and upon return to Uganda, these promises were abandoned, leaving them to endure the lingering effects of their guarding mission and bear the burden of heavy medical bills.
“Many have been forced to sell off their assets and live in debt as they struggle to cover the costs of treating injuries sustained during their service. According to our contracts from the Department Of Defence, we were entitled to resuscitation care where we were supposed to be fully reexamined upon completion of our contract so that in case of any injuries, we are treated until one would be better. This all just ended in papers. “
“As a result of these unfulfilled promises and exploitative practices, the majority of our members are living in extreme poverty and enduring mental anguish. Shockingly, some are even on suicide watch, plagued by the despair resulting from the broken dreams and exploitation they experienced while risking their lives in the hope of a better future.”
Musinguzi says that they learned of the discrepancy when they were already offering services and making claims wouldn’t be easy.
“As Ugandans, we were not conversant with the US payment system like the use of terms such as GS; we just came to understand the salary grade after we were engaged with work but that doesn’t stop us from raising concern over the breach of contracts which we observed,” Musinguzi said.
In their statement, the returnees want the US embassy in Kampala to take an interest in the matter.
“Based on these international laws, the deductions made from the wages of our members were completely illegal and unjust, causing significant harm to the affected individuals. As a result, we demand for the restitution of our unlawfully withheld wages.”
The war in Iraq is said to be the most privatized conflict in history. Since the invasion in 2003, the US Department of Defense doled out contracts worth an estimated $100 billion to private firms. Covering a vast range of services from catering to dry cleaning to security, one in every five dollars the US spends in Iraq ended up in the pockets of the contractors, according to a report by the Congressional Budget Office.
Workers MP, Usher Wilson Owere said asked the US Embassy in Uganda to intervene in the matter.
“The role these people played in Iraq and Afghanistan was for the interest of the US government and it must be compensated. The US is talking about human rights but what they are doing is abuse of your rights,” Owere said.
“The US Embassy in Uganda should inform their government back home of this. There are over 200,000 Ugandans who feel cheated. We want to negotiate and sort this out. I want them to sort this out or else it will spoil their name. This is not small money.”
