Esther Anyakun Davinia, the Minister of State for Labour, Employment, and Industrial Relations
The Government of Uganda has formally and officially spoken out on the alleged sexual exploitation of Ugandan female workers in Dubai exposed in the BBC documentary.
Addressing the media at the Uganda Media Centre on Tuesday, Esther Anyakun Davinia, the Minister of State for Labour, Employment, and Industrial Relations, said Abbey Mwesigwa, who is mentioned as the ringleader is not known by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.
“I would like to inform you that there are many Ugandans who travel to the United Arab Emirates on visit visas with a hope that they will secure employment when there. These are the people that find themselves with overstay visas and no employment. Some go on their own while others are trafficked by agents. We suspect that the majority of those mentioned in the documentary fall in that category. Trafficking in persons is a multi-billion-dollar business globally and requires concerted efforts between countries to be controlled,” Anyakun said, adding: “It is probable that the victims reported in the BBC story are Ugandan women who were trafficked by agents or irregularly externalized to Dubai.
It is highly unlikely for Ugandan migrant workers who have gone through the Ministry’s formal labour externalization processes as established to end up in the kind of exploitation that was reported by the BBC.”
She said that the Ministry has put in place robust mechanisms to accredit foreign recruitment agencies in UAE that recruit Ugandan migrant workers.
“Only agencies that have been accredited by our Embassy are allowed to recruit from Uganda through the External Employment Management Information (EEMIS)…. you may recall that an August 2022 Report from our Mission in Abu Dhabi showed that many Ugandans were irregularly staying in the UAE, living on the streets,” she said.
She added that the Report noted that in early August 2022, the Authorities of the UAE offered free tickets to all irregular migrants. As a result, many irregular migrant workers reported to Al Awir Immigration Centre for assessment and eventual repatriation to Uganda.
The Report further indicated that none of the 452 Ugandans who had reported to the Al Awir Immigration Centre had traveled through a recruitment company licensed by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.
In a bid to ensure that migration for work abroad is safe, orderly and humane, clearing of migrant workers, Anyakun said Government requires that the migrant worker has signed a contract of employment with guaranteed wages for regular working hours and an overtime pay for services rendered beyond regular working hours; Free emergency medical and dental treatment facilities; Just cause for the termination of the contract or of the services of the workers; Workers compensation benefits and war hazard protection; Repatriation of worker’s remains and properties in case of death to the point of hire, or if this is not possible under the circumstances, the proper dispatch upon prior arrangement with the worker’s next-of-kin and the nearest Embassy or Consulate; and Assistance in the remittance of worker’s salaries, allowances or allotments to his or her country of origin.
“Since the details of victims reported in the BBC story are not yet know, Government needs to be given reasonable time to investigate this matter and establish how those Ugandan women left Uganda and ended up in sex trade. These serious crimes require thorough investigation to identify the perpetrators. We are closely working with Ministries of Internal Affairs and Foreign Affairs to combat trafficking of Ugandans to U.A.E and other Middle East countries,” she said.
Labour Externalisation At A Glance
She said that the Externalization of Labour programme has led to the creation of at least 280,000 employment opportunities between 2016 and 2024 with wages of UGX 900,000 and above and that migrant worker remittances of about USD 1.3bn (UGX4.5 trillion) were realized last year.
She added that between December 2021 to 30th June 2025, the Ministry collected Non-Tax Revenue of UGX 34.2 billion.
The NTR is collected from license application fees, license fees, foreign job attestation fees, local job order fees, fines for late renewal of a license and training centre accreditation fees.
She said monitoring migrant workers abroad involves a multi-pronged approach combining government-led initiatives, international frameworks, and technological tools to track workers, enforce regulations, and provide support.
“Government licenses and vets recruitment agencies to ensure that only registered companies can recruit migrant workers. The Ugandan embassy collects data on foreign employers and workers, which helps in monitoring and ensuring compliance,” the Minister said, adding that a call center has been established to register and follow up on complaints from migrant workers, channelling them to relevant officers or embassies.
She urged all Ugandans who wish to travel abroad for work to do so through formal channels.
“The fight against human trafficking is a call for everyone. The individual, family, community, local leaders, security agencies, the media, cultural leaders, church leaders and Government,” she said.
It should be noted that Uganda’s employment opportunities are not growing fast enough to absorb the number of young people joining the labour market.
Between 600,000-700,000, Ugandans enter the labour market annually, with over 95% of them being youths. As a result, a significant proportion of the workforce, particularly youths remain unemployed and underemployed.
