Ugandan girls warned on human trafficking

HUMAN TRAFFICKING   PROSTITUTION

Ugandan women have been warned against the increasing number of criminal gangs in Kampala city who allegedly recruit girls on the streets promising them ‘juicy jobs in Malaysia and other East Asian countries and instead sell them into forced prostitution.

The newly appointed Malaysian consul in Uganda, businessman Hajji Habibu Kagimu said that he had been involved in bailing out Ugandan victims of forced prostitution after individuals who recruit them on the streets instead sell them to another racket of gangsters for forced prostitution.

"Most of the Ugandan girls are recruited on the streets of Kampala by a group of foreign gangsters who promise them jobs earning them $1,000 per month, they are trafficked using airports of neighboring countries and fly them to Malaysia where another gang sells them into prostitution where some have been murdered," Kagimu said.

Hajji Kagimu, the first Malaysian consul in Uganda was on  Tuesday speaking to journalists after presenting his credentials to the state minister for foreign affairs, Okello Oryem.

He said some Ugandan students have also been imprisoned for failure to renew their visas and end up in prisons.

Kagimu, however, encouraged Ugandans to go and study in Malaysia especially in the field of oil and gas as well as Computer and Information Technology.

He said teachers of English were on high demand in Malaysia and asked Ugandans interested to use the internet to apply for jobs and later verify using his office.

He urged the business community to explore opportunities of exporting fruits, coffee, and tea to Malaysia. He said Malaysia being advanced in the oil and gas exploration, many companies were looking forward to investing in Uganda and helping Uganda to develop the industry.  

Oryem urged Ugandans to use the right channels to travel abroad and ‘make sure they fulfill the conditions and terms of working in those countries instead of breaching the immigration laws of those countries.   

Moses Binoga, the officer, head of anti-human trafficking said he had received two reports of Ugandan victims who had been flown to Malaysia after promising them good jobs but ended up in forced prostitution.

He said the Ugandan high commission in Malaysia facilitated the victims to return to Uganda but the girls declined to give an interview and to reveal details of people who facilitated their travel.

"We discourage girls from seeking employment through individuals because they is no guarantee of a job as promised, we advise them to go through companies that have been licensed," he said.

Frank Mugabi, the publicist for the ministry of gender, labor, and social development said government condemns individuals that lure women into forced prostitution abroad.

He said the government had legalized 161 companies to externalize labor and they give them conditions including letting the workers sign contracts in Uganda before they are flown out.

"Government tasks these companies to file monthly reports of how the employees recruited to work abroad are coping," he said.   

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