Asians being enslaved in Uganda
SOME Asian businessmen in Uganda have been implicated in a slave trade-like scam. They lure workers from Asia, mostly from India and Pakistan, with promises of good pay. Upon arrival, however, they seize their passports and exploit them shamelessly, forcing them to work long hours with little or no
By Chris Kiwawulo
& Gladys Kalibbala
SOME Asian businessmen in Uganda have been implicated in a slave trade-like scam. They lure workers from Asia, mostly from India and Pakistan, with promises of good pay. Upon arrival, however, they seize their passports and exploit them shamelessly, forcing them to work long hours with little or no pay.
When the workers start complaining, their employers alert Immigration, which arrests them and deports them as illegal immigrants. They then import a new group of workers and the cycle continues.
A number of such cases are being investigated by the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) and the Ministry of Labour. Indian victims say they are told to leave their passports with their employers, acknowledgements of which, Saturday Vision has seen.
UHRC and the ministry are handling passport complaints of Faisal Iqbar, Rashik Bhaat, Safraz Anwar, Sanjiv Kumar and Shabbir Asif, among others.
Asif, the holder of passport number AA5139661, on February 22, 2008 complained to UHRC over his bosses’ continued holding of his passport. He is a former employee of Igloo food industries limited.
Asif said like many others, he was sacked when he demanded for his documents and millions of shillings in salary arrears.
The latest incident was on February 28, when 19 employees were reportedly fired without payment of their arrears.
Saturday Vision has obtained copies of letters from the labour ministry’s Jinja-based directorate labour to Marine and Agro Export Processing Limited, seeking explanations for holding passports and non-payment of salaries.
In a letter dated March 6, 2008, Alex Ddibya, a Jinja-based senior labour officer, demanded an explanation from the company over claims that its proprietors were holding staff’s passports and non-payment of salary arrears. Ddibya cited Iqbar, who was demanding for his passport and sh2m from the managing director of Marine and Agro Export Processing Ltd, Moyez Kassam and his co-director Ravi Ravindran.
Another Indian, Nirmal Kumar, is demanding sh5.8m as refund of the fees he paid for his work permit bond, salary arrears, three months’ gratuity and payment for leave not taken for nine months. Kumar, who was working for Marine and Agro Export Processing Ltd as a by-product manager, lodged his complaint at the UHRC and the ministry.
His petition states that he has worked with the company since May 1, 1999 until December 12, 2007 when he went to India for leave. On return, Kumar was sacked without pay.
Kumar says he had earlier complained to the company chairman, Jehangir Tejani, about Kassam withholding their passports, appointment letters, delaying their salaries for months and unnecessary abuses.
On complaining, Kumar notes, Kassam presented to him and some other senior staff a job contract form that they signed. “But none of us has ever received a copy of the said contract,†Kumar adds. He told Saturday Vision that his ordeal is similar to several others.
In February, Ddibya wrote to Kumar’s employers and gave them a fortnight to explain their actions. “Kumar has informed us that whereas you employed him effective May 1, 1999, you did not settle his arrears when you terminated his services on his return from leave. We shall be glad if you let us have your comments on the matter,†Ddibya wrote.
The proprietors denied everything. Kassam had reportedly left instructions for Kumar to contact him on phone when he reported from leave. When he called on February 8, Kassam told him to stop working.
Kumar said other colleagues were rounded up and deported, not to mention cases of cheating, mistreatment and harassment that Asian employees suffer at the hands of their bosses.
Many of the mistreated Asians have no chance of redress because they are deported. Others prefer to suffer silently because they fear to face the wrath of their bosses or to be deported, since it is their bosses who help them process travel documents and work permits in Uganda.
“Most of us stay in Uganda at the mercy of our bosses,†an Indian, who preferred anonymity, said. “In case of mistreatment, you have to think twice before going public because complaining puts you at the risk of being deported.â€
According to Azfar Bukhari, who was working as a transport manager at the Entebbe-based Tampa Fish processing company, their bosses paid employees’ travel expenses from India or Pakistan and recovered them when they started work.
“Before one comes to Uganda, the agreement is that your employer will recover his money when you start working.â€
Tampa is a subsidiary of Marine & Agro Export Processing Ltd.
Most Indians and pakistanis who come to work in Uganda are jobless in their countries and the majority are from poor families. The high unemployment levels are largely due to the high population in these countries.
According to the 2007 world population statistics, India is the second most highly populated country in the world with 1.1 billion people while Pakistan is sixth with 164.7 million people.
This population pressure and the struggle for survival forces them to migrate to countries like Uganda in search of employment.
“I come from a humble peasant background. My first time to put on a clean pair of trousers was in Kampala. In India, we used to wear rags. But that does not mean I should be exploited,†states an Indian who preferred anonymity.
The Indian Association of Uganda executive committee chairman, Naren Mehta, says the association has nothing to do with the employer-employee affairs.
“Employers and employees have a bi-lateral relationship. If they have a problem, they should sort it out between themselves,†he states. In case they fail, Mehta adds, employees should follow the law of the land. He suggests that the affected individuals/ employees could report to the labour ministry, UHRC or the Police for help, but not the association. Attempts to get a comment from the Marine and Agro group proprietors were futile.
Workers’ MP Sam Lyomoki says he is aware of the mistreatment in workplaces headed by Asians. He says they routinely get complaints from Asian employees and intervene.
“For example in the last one year, we got so many complaints and five of them were really serious but we managed to resolve them,†he states. He notes that the main cause of mistreatment is ignorance of the law by workers and some employers.
Lyomoki reveals that some of the Asian employers were using the cover of the President’s office to mistreat their workers. “We have come across cases where the ministry of labour has also failed to resolve employees’ complaints. Some investors threaten ministry officials that they will report them to the President over ‘sabotage’ and they end up not taking any action,†he says.
The MP is of the view that the only way to solve such mistreatment is through encouraging employers to join trade unions. “Most of the cases of mistreatment we have come across are from workplaces where there are no trade unions.â€
The case of Tampa Fishing Company in Entebbe
Tampa Fishing Company is a subsidiary of Marine & Agro Export Processing Ltd, where one of the employees dragged the managers to court for allegedly stealing his passport ‘in an attempt to declare him an illegal immigrant’.
On receiving the file, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions declared that Marine & Agro Export Processing Ltd managers had a case to answer. On February 26, one of the managers appeared before court in Entebbe on charges of stealing his employee’s passport.
Ravi Ravindran, the Director, allegedly stole a Pakistani passport No KB 724545 belonging to Azfar Bukhari, who was working as a transport manager at Tampa.
Ravindran, 43, is jointly charged with his managing director Moyez Kassam, who was not present in court. The case is registered as CRB 0122108 2816-07.
Ravindran, however, denied the charges before the Entebbe Chief Magistrate, Godfrey Opifeni, who granted him bail of sh200,000.
Prosecution had earlier opposed Ravindran’s bail application on grounds that the accused had jumped Police bond.
But Opifeni overruled the prosecution, saying he had lived in Uganda for 11 years and he did not expect him to abscond.
Tampa Fishing Company, which is located at Kitubulu near Entebbe town, is one of the five sister firms of Marine & Agro Group of companies based on Fifth Street in Jinja. Other firms are Igloo Food Industries Limited in Majanji, Busia, Wild Catch Limited in Masindi, Oakwood Investments Limited at Bukakata landing in Masaka and Fresh water Limited also in Masaka.
All the companies that deal in fish processing, are run by Ravindran and Kassam. Opifeni directed that Kassam appears at the next court session on March 23 to plead to the charges or risk being arrested. The New Vision has, however, established that Kassam never appeared in court and is still at large.
“He is not in office,†Bukhari says.
Bukhari also says he worked for Tampa fish factory for two-and-a-half years and was sacked on November 13, 2007, but without full pay. “I only got $1,787 (sh3m) out of $18,300 (sh31m) that was due to me in salary arrears and allowances,†he explains.
& Gladys Kalibbala
SOME Asian businessmen in Uganda have been implicated in a slave trade-like scam. They lure workers from Asia, mostly from India and Pakistan, with promises of good pay. Upon arrival, however, they seize their passports and exploit them shamelessly, forcing them to work long hours with little or no pay.
When the workers start complaining, their employers alert Immigration, which arrests them and deports them as illegal immigrants. They then import a new group of workers and the cycle continues.
A number of such cases are being investigated by the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) and the Ministry of Labour. Indian victims say they are told to leave their passports with their employers, acknowledgements of which, Saturday Vision has seen.
UHRC and the ministry are handling passport complaints of Faisal Iqbar, Rashik Bhaat, Safraz Anwar, Sanjiv Kumar and Shabbir Asif, among others.
Asif, the holder of passport number AA5139661, on February 22, 2008 complained to UHRC over his bosses’ continued holding of his passport. He is a former employee of Igloo food industries limited.
Asif said like many others, he was sacked when he demanded for his documents and millions of shillings in salary arrears.
The latest incident was on February 28, when 19 employees were reportedly fired without payment of their arrears.
Saturday Vision has obtained copies of letters from the labour ministry’s Jinja-based directorate labour to Marine and Agro Export Processing Limited, seeking explanations for holding passports and non-payment of salaries.
In a letter dated March 6, 2008, Alex Ddibya, a Jinja-based senior labour officer, demanded an explanation from the company over claims that its proprietors were holding staff’s passports and non-payment of salary arrears. Ddibya cited Iqbar, who was demanding for his passport and sh2m from the managing director of Marine and Agro Export Processing Ltd, Moyez Kassam and his co-director Ravi Ravindran.
Another Indian, Nirmal Kumar, is demanding sh5.8m as refund of the fees he paid for his work permit bond, salary arrears, three months’ gratuity and payment for leave not taken for nine months. Kumar, who was working for Marine and Agro Export Processing Ltd as a by-product manager, lodged his complaint at the UHRC and the ministry.
His petition states that he has worked with the company since May 1, 1999 until December 12, 2007 when he went to India for leave. On return, Kumar was sacked without pay.
Kumar says he had earlier complained to the company chairman, Jehangir Tejani, about Kassam withholding their passports, appointment letters, delaying their salaries for months and unnecessary abuses.
On complaining, Kumar notes, Kassam presented to him and some other senior staff a job contract form that they signed. “But none of us has ever received a copy of the said contract,†Kumar adds. He told Saturday Vision that his ordeal is similar to several others.
In February, Ddibya wrote to Kumar’s employers and gave them a fortnight to explain their actions. “Kumar has informed us that whereas you employed him effective May 1, 1999, you did not settle his arrears when you terminated his services on his return from leave. We shall be glad if you let us have your comments on the matter,†Ddibya wrote.
The proprietors denied everything. Kassam had reportedly left instructions for Kumar to contact him on phone when he reported from leave. When he called on February 8, Kassam told him to stop working.
Kumar said other colleagues were rounded up and deported, not to mention cases of cheating, mistreatment and harassment that Asian employees suffer at the hands of their bosses.
Many of the mistreated Asians have no chance of redress because they are deported. Others prefer to suffer silently because they fear to face the wrath of their bosses or to be deported, since it is their bosses who help them process travel documents and work permits in Uganda.
“Most of us stay in Uganda at the mercy of our bosses,†an Indian, who preferred anonymity, said. “In case of mistreatment, you have to think twice before going public because complaining puts you at the risk of being deported.â€
According to Azfar Bukhari, who was working as a transport manager at the Entebbe-based Tampa Fish processing company, their bosses paid employees’ travel expenses from India or Pakistan and recovered them when they started work.
“Before one comes to Uganda, the agreement is that your employer will recover his money when you start working.â€
Tampa is a subsidiary of Marine & Agro Export Processing Ltd.
Most Indians and pakistanis who come to work in Uganda are jobless in their countries and the majority are from poor families. The high unemployment levels are largely due to the high population in these countries.
According to the 2007 world population statistics, India is the second most highly populated country in the world with 1.1 billion people while Pakistan is sixth with 164.7 million people.
This population pressure and the struggle for survival forces them to migrate to countries like Uganda in search of employment.
“I come from a humble peasant background. My first time to put on a clean pair of trousers was in Kampala. In India, we used to wear rags. But that does not mean I should be exploited,†states an Indian who preferred anonymity.
The Indian Association of Uganda executive committee chairman, Naren Mehta, says the association has nothing to do with the employer-employee affairs.
“Employers and employees have a bi-lateral relationship. If they have a problem, they should sort it out between themselves,†he states. In case they fail, Mehta adds, employees should follow the law of the land. He suggests that the affected individuals/ employees could report to the labour ministry, UHRC or the Police for help, but not the association. Attempts to get a comment from the Marine and Agro group proprietors were futile.
Workers’ MP Sam Lyomoki says he is aware of the mistreatment in workplaces headed by Asians. He says they routinely get complaints from Asian employees and intervene.
“For example in the last one year, we got so many complaints and five of them were really serious but we managed to resolve them,†he states. He notes that the main cause of mistreatment is ignorance of the law by workers and some employers.
Lyomoki reveals that some of the Asian employers were using the cover of the President’s office to mistreat their workers. “We have come across cases where the ministry of labour has also failed to resolve employees’ complaints. Some investors threaten ministry officials that they will report them to the President over ‘sabotage’ and they end up not taking any action,†he says.
The MP is of the view that the only way to solve such mistreatment is through encouraging employers to join trade unions. “Most of the cases of mistreatment we have come across are from workplaces where there are no trade unions.â€
The case of Tampa Fishing Company in Entebbe
Tampa Fishing Company is a subsidiary of Marine & Agro Export Processing Ltd, where one of the employees dragged the managers to court for allegedly stealing his passport ‘in an attempt to declare him an illegal immigrant’.
On receiving the file, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions declared that Marine & Agro Export Processing Ltd managers had a case to answer. On February 26, one of the managers appeared before court in Entebbe on charges of stealing his employee’s passport.
Ravi Ravindran, the Director, allegedly stole a Pakistani passport No KB 724545 belonging to Azfar Bukhari, who was working as a transport manager at Tampa.
Ravindran, 43, is jointly charged with his managing director Moyez Kassam, who was not present in court. The case is registered as CRB 0122108 2816-07.
Ravindran, however, denied the charges before the Entebbe Chief Magistrate, Godfrey Opifeni, who granted him bail of sh200,000.
Prosecution had earlier opposed Ravindran’s bail application on grounds that the accused had jumped Police bond.
But Opifeni overruled the prosecution, saying he had lived in Uganda for 11 years and he did not expect him to abscond.
Tampa Fishing Company, which is located at Kitubulu near Entebbe town, is one of the five sister firms of Marine & Agro Group of companies based on Fifth Street in Jinja. Other firms are Igloo Food Industries Limited in Majanji, Busia, Wild Catch Limited in Masindi, Oakwood Investments Limited at Bukakata landing in Masaka and Fresh water Limited also in Masaka.
All the companies that deal in fish processing, are run by Ravindran and Kassam. Opifeni directed that Kassam appears at the next court session on March 23 to plead to the charges or risk being arrested. The New Vision has, however, established that Kassam never appeared in court and is still at large.
“He is not in office,†Bukhari says.
Bukhari also says he worked for Tampa fish factory for two-and-a-half years and was sacked on November 13, 2007, but without full pay. “I only got $1,787 (sh3m) out of $18,300 (sh31m) that was due to me in salary arrears and allowances,†he explains.