Driver held over human trafficking

Aug 12, 2009

A KAMPALA cab driver has been detained over luring pupils from Mukono and Kayunga districts to the city to work as housemaids.

By Herbert Ssempogo

A KAMPALA cab driver has been detained over luring pupils from Mukono and Kayunga districts to the city to work as housemaids.

Jude Kiwanuka, who operates at the Mulago stage, was arrested on Ben Kiwanuka Street.
In his company was one of the victims, Sumaya Nalubega, 12, shortly after she arrived from Nkokonjeru in Mukono.
According to Henry Kalulu, the Kampala Metropolitan deputy Police spokesperson, Kiwanuka promised the girls a lavish lifestyle in the city.

Consequently, even 12-year-old Lydia Nakidde, a pupil at Nonga RC and daughter of Alice Kavuma, abandoned her studies for a ‘good job’.

Other victims were Tahiya Kisakye, 13, who dropped out of Nkokonjeru C/U primary school and Mariam Mutesi, 12, from Bulawula Primary school in Kayunga district.
Nalubega and Kisakye are daughters of a woman only identified as Nakyejjwe of Nkonkonjeru.

The parents reported the disappearance of their children to Kitimbwa police post in Mukono.

Each of the girls, Kalulu said, paid sh30,000 before they could be connected to the families where they were supposed to work.

“The parents did not consent. This is why they reported their children’s disappearance. Child labour is a crime,” Kalulu stated, adding that one of the girls stole her parents’ money to pay Kiwanuka.
The suspect faces charges of abduction, human trafficking and child labour, Kalulu said.

The girls were yesterday reunited with their parents at the Central Police Station in Kampala, where Kiwanuka was detained.
Kalulu yesterday warned people against employing juveniles, saying it was a crime and against the government’s programmes like the Universal Primary Education.

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