The plight of Ugandans trapped in human trafficking rings in Myanmar has drawn renewed diplomatic attention, with Ambassador Betty Bigombe, Uganda’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, and Abbey Walusimbi, the Senior Presidential Advisor on Diaspora Affairs, engaging in efforts to secure their repatriation.
The crisis gained widespread attention in 2023 when shadow foreign affairs minister Muwada Nkunyingi exposed the extent of Ugandans ensnared in Myanmar’s human trafficking networks.
Many victims, largely young IT graduates, were lured with promises of high-paying jobs in Thailand, Cambodia, China, and Myanmar, only to end up in exploitative conditions controlled by criminal syndicates in rebel-held areas.
Ambassador Bigombe revealed ongoing diplomatic efforts to negotiate with relevant authorities and captors to facilitate the release of trafficked Ugandans.
She also called for stronger government intervention to curb human trafficking at its source.
"Many Ugandans are lured to work in Myanmar's online scam centres, where they end up suffering. Many agents are operating in Uganda, and almost every day, Ugandans fall victim," she stated.
Reports indicate that victims are stripped of their passports and phones upon arrival in Myanmar and confined to cramped quarters.
They are then subjected to forced labour, working up to 20-hour shifts in scam operations that require them to generate $10,000 per day.
Walusimbi explained how traffickers recruit Ugandans through fraudulent online job advertisements and facilitate their transit via Ethiopia before moving them through Thailand and Malaysia.
"This is coordinated and organised criminality," he said. "Unsuspecting Ugandans take pictures at Entebbe and Addis Ababa airports to send to their recruiters. Upon arrival in Bangkok, they are directed to exit through Gate 8, placed in vans for a 12-hour drive to the Thai-Myanmar border, and then transported by boat to rebel-controlled territories."
The government has so far repatriated 24 Ugandans, but at least 40 remain stranded and in need of logistical support to return home.
Among them is the daughter of a prominent late soldier. Ambassador Bigombe has appealed to the President's Office for urgent intervention, as more Ugandans remain trapped in what have been described as “scam factories” along the Myanmar-Thailand border.