Somalia and Uganda have signed an agreement to regulate the employment of Ugandan citizens working in Somalia. The agreement stipulates that workers must be provided with written employment contracts, and their salaries must be deposited into bank accounts held in their own names.
The agreement was signed in Mogadishu on Thursday, October 22, 2026, by Somalia’s Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Prof. Saalim Ali Ibro, and Uganda’s Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, General Henry Tumukund.
The Ugandan government has stated that more than 20,000 of its citizens are working in Somalia, primarily in the sectors of education, healthcare, logistics, and private security.
The agreement mandates that Ugandan nationals recruited for work in Somalia must be at least 21 years old and must receive a written employment contract before departing their home country. These contracts will also be registered upon the workers’ arrival in Somalia, and any subsequent amendments may only be made if they are in the best interest of the employee. As stipulated in the agreement, employers will be responsible for visa costs, employee travel expenses, and insurance.
They are also required to provide employees with a ticket to return to their home country once every two years and to deposit their salaries directly into their bank accounts.
The agreement further prohibits forced labor and the confiscation of employees’ passports. It grants employees the right to communicate with their families and their respective embassies, and allows them to change employers if the job provided differs from what was originally promised.
Additionally, in the event that an employee passes away in Somalia, their remains will be repatriated to their home country upon the request of their family.
Meanwhile, the government of Uganda has pledged to ensure that workers sent abroad have no criminal records, have undergone the necessary medical screenings, and are not subjected to excessive fees by recruitment agencies.
Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the agreement establishes a framework to ensure organized, fair recruitment practices and the protection of workers’ rights. Minister Tumukunde stated during the meeting that the positive relationship between the two countries needs to be translated into concrete commitments.
Officials who participated in the discussions noted that the Minister emphasized the necessity of putting an end to illegal dismissals, the withholding of wages and allowances, the confiscation of workers’ passports, and the restriction of workers’ ability to communicate with others.
The agreement will come into effect once both governments have completed their respective internal ratification processes; it will remain in force for a period of three years and will automatically renew upon the expiration of this term.
This agreement is part of the cooperation between Somalia and Uganda in the areas of security, education, and migration—sectors for which agreements were previously reached during the second meeting of the Joint Commission between the two nations, held in Kampala in October 2025.
The two governments also agreed to finalize the establishment of a Joint Investment and Trade Council no later than November 30th.
