Aisha Namawejje, 26, a resident of Kampala recounts how she landed in the hands of human traffickers in 2016 after she was tricked that there was an available waitress job slot for her in Dubai. At the time, Namawejje had just completed high school and could not resist the two-year contract which came with a monthly pay of 1.2 million Shillings.
Charles Twine, the Spokesperson of the Criminal Investigations Directorate told URN that the deceased laborers whose identified have been withheld by police were trafficked to Kuwait on May 18th, 2019 by Spotlight, an International Labor export firm.
Statistics from the National Task Force against human trafficking indicates that 674 cases of human trafficking have been reported to Police since 2016. Of these, only 59 cases have been convicted from the 176 cases taken to court.
According to the Gender Minister, Peace Mutuuzo Regis, the money is needed to support the department of employment to facilitate the establishment of a one-stop centre for all Government agencies involved in clearance and support of Migrant workers.
Martin Wandera, the Director of the Labor Desk in the Gender Labor and Social Development Ministry, says well as the Ministry and Interpol try as much as they can to help people stuck abroad, many of them leave the country illegally.
Preliminary police findings indicate that the two suspects have been running an illegal operation through which girls and young women are convinced to go to Oman for work but they are instead forced into sex trade. It has been established that the suspects have taken more than 20 girls to Oman through the Busia-Nairobi-Dubai-Oman route.
The Foreign Affairs Committee Chairperson, Hood Katuramu noted that the ministry should support other government departments in signing bi-lateral agreements and MOUs with the host countries.Katuramu insisted that Foreign Affairs should work closely with the Gender Ministry and the Internal Affairs ministry which is in charge of issuing travel documents.
Pius Bigirimana, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development says the waiver in fees will only be applicable for Middle East countries that Uganda has signed bilateral agreements with. Currently, Uganda has signed agreements with only Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Uganda is yet to sign agreements of the same nature with Qatar next month, followed by the United Arab Emirates in the near future.
Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Okello said human trafficking and forced labour cases are showing an alarming increase as a result of abuse of the process by criminal gangs and unscrupulous employers.
He said foreigners with money come into the country and easily adopt poor children but no one is sure where they are taking them and what they do with them.
Unlike most fraudsters who obtain money and disappear, Twikiriza has been getting transport and travel visas for the victims only for them to be stranded when they reach Dubai.
A new 2014 report by Child rights non–government organizations in Jinja shows an increase in cases of child abuse in the area. The most common abuse is illicit trade in teenagers below the age of 17 years for domestic labour which has led to other rights abuses like defilement, intensive labor all at a cost dictated by middlemen.
Lameck Kigozi, the Savannah Regional Police Spokesperson says during interrogations, the sheikhs told cops that they were transporting children for Madrasa lessons at Jinja Taqwa Mosque and they got suspicious on why they traveling at night.
Investigations revealed that most Ugandans who are either knowingly of unknowingly convinced to leave the country in search of better employment head to Kuwait, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates – UAE and Qatar.
According to Binoga, Arinda charges her victims between two to three million shillings with promises of helping them to get jobs in supermarkets and restaurants.
Police in Rwanda are having in detention a Ugandan National on charges of human trafficking. David Behakanira who hails from Bushenyi is suspected to have been trafficking Rwandan girls to Uganda where they are forced to sleep with men at his hotel located in the district.
Police in Entebbe have arrested two people with a three-month old baby girl who was being taken out of the country without proper documents. The two, who were arrested on Tuesday, have been identified as Martin Benna, a Czech national and Charity Amusiimire, a Ugandan aged 26.
Three men including an Indian national have this evening been remanded to Luzira prison for allegedly having lured a 22 year old student of Green Stars High School in Entebbe, Mathias Ssekyewa and removed his left kidney upon promising him 200 million shillings which he never got.
