A sombre mood was witnessed at Entebbe airport on Wednesday evening when the family of 23-year-old Brenda Nakimuli broke down in tears as it welcomed its relative who had got stuck in Jordan, spending six months in Jowaida prison. 

Mixed feelings of joy and sorrow engulfed the atmosphere as other passengers and users of Entebbe airport could be seen shedding tears as well.

Clad in a blue-striped gomesi, Justine Nabawanga, the mother of Nakimuli from Mulagi sub-county in Kyankwanzi district, was seated on the pavement by the side of the waiting area, evidently in prayer. 

After two futile attempts to have her daughter back, it was a third trial. Seeing her daughter exit the Airport terminal, Nabawanga was out of words and full of tears. 

Brenda Nakimuli being welcomed back to Uganda from Jordan where she had spent six months in prison. Her mother Justine Nabawanga (right) stares in disbelief.

Patrick Lubwama, a brother to Nakimuli, explained how his sister had been trafficked out of the country in 2022.

"She was taken by an agent known as Joseph Kato and got attached to an office of the same company (names withheld) in Jordan, from where she was allocated to work as a maid in one of the residences," Lubwama explained. 

Upon her return on Wednesday, Nakimuli could only vividly recall details of the first four months while working at the residence of Ibrahim, who seemed to be in his 70s.

"He attempted to rape me several times but I could manage to push him away. However, at one point he managed to insert his private parts in my mouth," the teary woman recalled. 

Medication without illness 

She reportedly contacted the labour company in Jordan which picked her after some time and allocated her to a couple of other homes from where she could allegedly be administered with unknown medication even before complaining of any illness.

A visibly traumatised Nakimuli could pause the narration and gaze in self-pity while tears rolled down her cheeks. She was not sure which exact route was used to traffic her out of the country. 

Attempts to bring her back

Hailing from Kyankwanzi district, Nakimuli, a mother of one child, had never been to any airport hence, not sure whether she was taken through Entebbe Airport or any other. Neither is she sure how and why she ended up in Jowaida Prison.

Meanwhile, her brother Lubwama explained how they had been contacted in August 2023 by some inmates, saying Nakimuli was in a poor medical condition with a mental break-down inside the prison. Her family back in Kyankwanzi started mobilising for funds to have her returned to Uganda.

"A certain individual requested us to top up $500 for her air ticket, to which we obliged and sent the money to an address in the name of Muhamood Raju. When the reported time for her return reached, we came to Entebbe Airport and waited, but she did not show up," Lubwama further explained. 

She was reportedly too sick to travel by aeroplane. A second request was initiated with payment of another $500 which also went in vain.

After several endeavours, Lubwama and their mother managed to return Nakimuli through a company known as Muko protection agency. 

"We were just trying all avenues until we got successful with this company," Lubwama stated. 

Najimeddin Najim, the owner of Muko protection agency, said Nakimuli was incarcerated for six months without any charge.

"Only that, she had nowhere else to go nor proper documentation to enable her return home. She had also suffered a yet-to-be identified long sickness which took a toll on her mental stability hence could not remember much," Najimeddin explained. 

Hailing from Jordan, he managed to make several contacts that enabled the return of Nakimuli. 

"We are letting the family take care of her until she fully recovers and is able to explain everything properly, then we shall see how to claim for her money from whichever company that had taken her to Jordan," he explained.

Quoting several relevant sources, the 2023 report from the US department of state noted that Uganda continues to make significant efforts to curb trafficking in persons.