The national coordinator for the prevention of trafficking in persons at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Julius Twinomujuni, says human trafficking is on the rise due to porous borders. 

"Between 2021 and 2022, we registered 421 cases and as per our 2022-23 report, the cases have skyrocketed to 1200 so far. 80% are domestic, 20% are external and the number of victims sums up to 2099," he explained.

Speaking at a two-day engagement meeting to sensitise Kasese district leaders and security organs on June 2, Twinomujuni noted that the youth are the most involved in human trafficking while the women are the most victims.

Rwenzori East Regional Police officers attending the two-day engagment meeting on human trafficking. (Photo by Samuel Amanyire)

He said that most cases are being registered along the border districts mainly at Katuna which borders Rwanda, Arua district which neighbours South Sudan, Malaba which neighbours Kenya, Kyotera which neighbours Tanzania, and Kasese which neighbours DR Congo. 

What’s fueling the vice?

Twinomujuni noted that domestic violence was one of the major reasons leading to human trafficking because many women have been left stranded, vulnerable and exposed to traffickers. He also blamed poor parenting that has pushed many children to the streets.

Twinomujuni also disclosed that the high level of unemployment has left people desperate for jobs, something traffickers take advantage of. 

He also noted that poverty has made it harder for people to meet their daily needs such as food, clothing and shelter among others, a weakness that the traffickers exploit by promising better standards of living.

Challenges after rescue

After rescuing the victims, he says their main challenge is they lack shelter to house the trafficked victims

He said there is a need for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to have its own facilities for easy counselling of victims, thorough investigations and to provide training to affected persons. "We only depend on shelter owned by some civil societies," he said.

Curbing human trafficking

Twinomujuni said they have embarked on an awareness program by engaging district leadership and security organs in different districts. 

He appealed to the general public to be extra cautious with entities that come on board to offer people jobs. 

Twinomujuni encouraged victims to always report cases to the Police and other concerned authorities for immediate intervention.  

After the two-day engagement meeting, Rwenzori East Police spokesperson, ASP Nelson Tumushime, said they had been equipped with ample skills on how to identify and deal with both the traffickers and victims.

Rwenzori East Police spokesperson, ASP Nelson Tumushime

"Surely, at the end of the day, we now feel equipped with the skills to handle human trafficking cases,” Tumushime said. "We have been registering cases of human trafficking but our staff lacked a proper handling due to ignorance." 

He also said that the people within the Rwenzori East region are ignorant about the ways in which human trafficking happens and pledged to carry out comprehensive community policing and create awareness within the general public.  

SSP Godfrey Achiria, the Rwenzori East regional Police commander, requested more awareness training for the local leaders so that they disseminate information to the local people. 

"Civilians easily listen to their local leaders. So you have to widen your budget and train them too," Achiria requested.

Kasese district LC5 chairperson Elphazi Muhindi

Kasese district LC5 chairperson Elphazi Muhindi hailed the internal affairs ministry for the great initiative and especially for associating with the district leadership in the fight against human trafficking.  

"This initiative has been so timely, especially patterning with the Kasese district leadership in fighting human trafficking. As leaders we are going to exercise our roles to ensure that our people are not victims of human trafficking anymore," Muhindi said.