Namibia has declined a visa extension request for an influential Ugandan monarch who is admitted to a health facility in the country, the state broadcaster reports, quoting a government official.
King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II of Buganda Kingdom has been receiving medical treatment in the Southern African country since April for an undisclosed illness.
The facility where he is admitted early this month requested Namibia's foreign ministry for an extension of his visa, which was denied.
The Namibian authorities insisted that immigration regulations provide for a maximum stay of 90 days for foreigners, the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation reports.
Months-long absence
"Given the above and having checked the records, I wish to inform you that the request for an extension for His Royal Highness Ronald Mutebi II, King of the Buganda Kingdom, is declined,'' Penda Naanda, the foreign ministry executive director, is quoted as saying in a letter to the hospital.
King Mutebi’s months-long absence, including missing out on his birthday celebrations, sparked concerns among his subjects back home.
His family disclosed in June that the monarch travelled to Namibia on the recommendation of his physicians.
“The Kabaka (the king’s official title) has been visiting various medical practitioners both within and outside the country to monitor his health for several years now,'' his spokesman, Charles Mayiga, was quoted as saying by Uganda’s state broadcaster.
Recently, his physicians advised him ''to relieve himself of some duties and rest for a few months, as hard work was found to negatively impact his health,'' Mayiga added.
Uganda response
Mayiga reassured that the monarch’s condition was not worrying.
Uganda has said it will respect Nambia’s position on the monarch’s visa issue.
"What Ugandans should understand is that every country is a sovereign state and we have to respect their rules and ways of life," Uganda's Foreign Affairs Minister Henry Oryem Okello is quoted as saying by Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper.
Like other traditional leaders, King Mutebi does not wield any political power. However, he has a strong influence on his subjects. The Buganda is Uganda's largest traditional kingdom.
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