A 78-year-old Ugandan priest, Edward Nalwamba, has been released from United States immigration detention after 13 months in custody, but his exit from the facility has sparked criticism after two fellow detainees reportedly carried him to his waiting ride.
Nalwamba was freed from a GEO-operated detention centre in Aurora, Colorado, on Tuesday, following a federal judge’s order directing immigration authorities to release him by October 20.
Footage captured by CBS Colorado showed two detainees carrying the elderly priest from the facility after staff reportedly refused to allow him to use a wheelchair beyond the centre’s gate.
Nalwamba, who has lived in Colorado for more than two decades, said his physical condition had deteriorated significantly during his detention, which began in September 2025.
Recalling his health before his arrest, he told CBS Colorado, “I was walking. I was exercising. I was playing ping pong.”
He said he could no longer walk without assistance and explained that staff initially wheeled him towards the exit but stopped at the gate.
“They get me outside and say we can’t go beyond this,” Nalwamba said. “And I’m asking, ‘Can’t the car come here?’ They say, ‘No.’ I say, ‘So how am I going to get the car?’”
He said two other detainees offered to carry him to his transportation, expressing appreciation for their assistance.
“Those friends offered to carry me, and, I mean, I’m so grateful to them,” he added.
The circumstances surrounding his release attracted criticism from Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper, who said members of his staff had visited the detention centre earlier that day.
According to the senator, his team requested that officials allow Nalwamba to contact his caretakers before his release and provide a wheelchair to help him reach his ride.
Hickenlooper said GEO staff assured his office that both requests would be honoured, but neither was fulfilled.
“They failed to deliver on either,” he wrote in a social media post. “No phone call. No wheelchair. No human decency.”
He described the incident as an act of cruelty and pledged to continue holding those responsible accountable.
Nalwamba’s lawyer, Joy Athanasiou, said her client entered immigration custody in good health but developed serious medical problems while detained.
“When he came to the detention center a year ago, he was extremely healthy. He was very fit. He exercised regularly. He could do 15 to 20 push-ups. Now, he is wheelchair-bound. He is extremely weak,” she said.
Athanasiou disclosed that Nalwamba was diagnosed with pneumonia in January, lost more than 30 pounds and collapsed during his detention. She also alleged that he had suffered from a persistent respiratory illness since June without receiving adequate medical testing and treatment.
Nalwamba said he had experienced chest pain, coughing, dizziness and weakness in his legs.
His lawyer said supporters were working to arrange medical appointments and hoped he would receive physical therapy and rehabilitation to aid his recovery.
In a statement issued in June, the Department of Homeland Security defended the medical care available to people held in immigration custody.
“It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody,” a department spokesperson said, adding that detainees had access to medical appointments and round-the-clock emergency care.
Nalwamba arrived in the United States from Uganda in 2002 and served as a priest at Resurrection Anglican Fellowship in Greenwood Village for approximately 15 years. He remained in the country after his tourist visa expired.
He and his supporters have said he fears returning to Uganda because of alleged persecution linked to his pro-democracy political activities.
However, the Department of Homeland Security said Nalwamba overstayed his visa, was granted voluntary departure in 2007 and received a final removal order in 2010. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him on September 18, 2025.
Before his arrest, Nalwamba had been living under an immigration order of supervision.
His lawyers challenged his prolonged detention through a federal habeas corpus petition, arguing that authorities could not continue holding him indefinitely.
A federal judge granted the petition on Monday and ordered his release by October 20. However, his underlying immigration case remains unresolved.
Athanasiou said she was concerned that immigration authorities might attempt to detain her client again.
Reflecting on his release, Nalwamba questioned the reason for his prolonged detention.
“I am back to where I was when they first arrested me,” he said. “So I was asking myself, ‘Why did they arrest me in the first place?’”
