Ugandan bites US immigration officer during deportation to Kampala

• US authorities were deporting Donald Kiiza Atuhairwe to Uganda on May 28, 2026.

• He allegedly escaped during a stop in Phoenix and bit an immigration officer.

• A US immigration judge had ordered his removal in May 2025.

• Atuhairwe was convicted of sexual assault and disorderly conduct in Wisconsin in 2023.

A journey meant to return a convicted Ugandan student to Kampala ended at a United States airport after he allegedly fled from immigration officers and bit one of them during a struggle.

US federal prosecutors charged Donald Kiiza Atuhairwe with assaulting a federal officer on May 30, 2026. The charge followed an incident at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona two days earlier.

Atuhairwe had studied at the University of Wisconsin-Superior as an international student. A US immigration judge found him inadmissible and issued a final removal order on May 6, 2025.

Two Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were escorting him from El Paso, Texas, to Kampala. Their commercial flight stopped in Phoenix on May 28, 2026.

Court documents cited by Arizona Family say Atuhairwe tried to escape after officers refused to allow him to smoke a cigarette. He ran through the airport terminal and pushed people out of his way.

The US Department of Justice said Atuhairwe later stopped and faced an officer in a fighting stance. The officer tried to restrain him.

During the struggle, Atuhairwe allegedly bit the officer’s left hand and right ring finger. The second bite caused the officer to bleed.

Other officers restrained him and took him to a secure section of the airport.

Atuhairwe later told investigators that he ran because he was frightened and had “lost his mind”. He claimed the bite was accidental because he could not breathe and the officer’s finger entered his mouth. He also offered to apologise, according to court documents cited by Arizona Family.

The failed deportation followed a sexual assault case dating back to 2022.

Atuhairwe, then aged 23, faced two felony charges of second-degree sexual assault and one misdemeanour charge of fourth-degree sexual assault in Wisconsin.

Prosecutors accused him of assaulting three women in separate incidents between July and November 2022. Two of the incidents allegedly happened in university dormitory rooms. The third reportedly occurred at Builder’s Saloon.

A court convicted him of sexual assault and disorderly conduct in 2023. The conviction later formed part of the events that led to his removal proceedings.

The US Attorney’s Office included Atuhairwe’s case in an immigration enforcement report published on June 9, 2026. Prosecutors charged 271 people in Arizona between May 30 and June 5. Atuhairwe was the only person in that operation charged with assaulting a federal officer.

The assault charge remains an accusation unless proved beyond reasonable doubt.