Cases of human trafficking in Uganda increased by 96.7% in the year 2021,a report by the coordination officer for prevention of trafficking in persons in the Ministry of Internal Affairs has indicated.
The report released on Friday at Hotel Africana in Kampala indicated that a total of 421 incidents were reported between January and December,2021 compared to the 214 in 2020.
“Incidents of internal trafficking were highest with 278, representing 66.03% , transnational trafficking had 113 incidents representing 26.84% while 30 incidents of suspected trafficking were unknown,” the report indicates.
Transnational
The report indicates that there were 113 incidents of transnational trafficking in which a total of 727 victims were involved.
“There were 297 victims of transnational trafficking with Dubai as the leading destination country, 175 victims to Saudi Arabia, 110 victims to Qatar, 50 victims to UAE, 44 to Kenya while Oman and Abu Dhabi had two victims each,” the report says.
It also indicates that most of the victims intercepted in Kenya were in transit to other destination in the Middle East.
According to the report, labour remains the biggest form of exploitation for trafficking in persons for transnational trafficking.
The report explains that is driven by large population of unemployed youths and the increased demand for semi-skilled labour in countries Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman and Jordan among others.
Modes of recruitment
The report indicates that deception and fraud were the most commonly used means of recruitment for victims of human trafficking.
“Majority of the victims were recruited and transported to their respective destinations through deceptive promises for nice paying jobs abroad. The perpetrators use fraudulent means including forgery of travel documents, giving false information to government authorities and using ungazetted exit and entry routes along the porous borders of Uganda.”
The report also indicates that some traffickers use fraud and deception to carry out illegal recruitment of migrant workers to countries which have signed bilateral labour agreements with Uganda such as UAE and Jordan.
It is indicated that common human trafficking routes in 2021 were Wakiso, Kampala, Mukono and the eastern border districts to Kenya and several other foreign countries including the Middle East.
The report also highlights that the other route is Burundi- Tanzania through western Uganda to Kampala then to Kenya and other Middle East countries mostly for labour and sexual exploitation.
According to the report, by December 31,2021, a total of 403 cases were taken to court , out of which 30 secured convictions and 11 withdrawn from court.
A total of 501 suspects of trafficking in persons were arrested, 279 of whom were adults and 116 females whereas the rest were juveniles.
Speaking at the launch of the report, Lt Gen Joseph Musanyufu , the Ministry of Internal Affairs Permanent Secretary said whereas the report pointed to Middle East as the biggest destination for trafficked persons abroad, Asian countries like Thailand, India and Malaysia are also big destinations.
“We need to be more alert but also come together because this is a joint effort to fight trafficking in persons,” Lt Gen Musanyufu said.
He noted that the problem of trafficking is not only external but also internal, noting that this was exacerbated by the onset of the Covid pandemic and the resultant lockdown.
“Most of the victims are not aware that they are being trafficked but also some of the facilitators are not aware that they are participating in a crime. There is need for sensitization of the public about human trafficking.”
Agnes Igoye, the deputy national coordinator for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons at the Ministry of Internal Affairs said they have started an awareness campaign through radios, televisions and other forms of media.
“There was an enhanced campaign to inform the public about the existing trends of the crime of human trafficking and available safer options for labour migration and protection of the vulnerable children,”Igoye said.
She however urged members of the public to report cases of human trafficking to ensure they are investigated and suspects arrested to face the wrath of the law.