KAMPALA - Uganda has warned of the dangers of drug smuggling after two its citizens were executed in China, with some 80 more held in Chinese jails on similar charges.
Foreign Minister Henry Okello Oryem told AFP: "This should serve as a lesson to Ugandans that if you hide drugs in your bodies and in your bottoms, well knowing you are involved in an illegal activity, you should be ready to face the consequences, including death.
"Uganda is an agricultural country," he added. "There is money in agriculture and not in drugs."
The condemned pair, whose names have not been released, were the first Ugandans to be executed in China, the minister said.
The news of the executions, which took place last month, only emerged on Tuesday. Okello said the government had appealed to China's ambassador to Uganda, but the sentence had already been carried out.
"We were informed too late and nothing could be done at that time," he added.
However, he said Kampala was appealing to China and other nations to have convicted Ugandans sent home to serve jail terms in Ugandan prisons.
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