The deputy national coordinator of Prevention of Trafficking in Persons, Agnes Igoye, has urged parents to be very careful with whom they entrust their children because traffickers can be found anywhere.

Igoye told New Vision on Tuesday that on September 26, a very brave 17-year-old (names withheld) went to Buwenge Police Station in Jinja district and reported a pastor for sexually exploiting her.

“She is pregnant, so the traffickers can even be found in Church. Using the name of God and Jesus, pastors and church leaders involved in trafficking are good at manipulating children and even adults,” Igoye said.

She also appealed to parents to be vigilant with what is happening in their neighborhood and report such cases to the nearest police station.

Upon further investigations, Igoye said, the 17-year-old was living with 32 others whom the pastor had trafficked.

“They later led police to another home with 20 children. In total the pastor, Robert Masiga, had trafficked 52 children from Luuka, Jinja, Buyengo and Tororo; three of the children are pregnant,” she said.

She also said the children were living under bad conditions, without enough food to eat.

"Apart from the 17-year-old, the rest of the children, are below 15 years including 3, 4, 5 year olds. They have now been placed in three safe shelters for safe custody and rehabilitation and family tracing has already commenced," she said.

She noted that the pastor had been arrested.

According to the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act 2009 Section 4- A person commits the offense of aggravated trafficking where: 4 (a) the victim is a child; 4 (d) the offender is an organization engaged in the activities of organizing, directing or protecting the vulnerable persons in society. They are liable to imprisonment for life.

Section 5 of the Act also talks about trafficking in children

 “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation”- commits an offence of aggravated trafficking in children and may be liable to suffer death.