A picture of handcuffed suspect/Courtesy
The National Anti-Human Trafficking Office at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has launched an investigation into the trafficking of 14 Burundians, allegedly orchestrated by Pieri Ndayisenga and Shaban Serungaya. The duo is accused of selling the victims to a farmer in Gomba district, promising them lucrative employment opportunities as gardeners and shepherds in Uganda.
According to Derrick Basalirwa Kigenyi, the Deputy Coordinator of the National Coordination Office Against Human Trafficking, the victims were trafficked in November 2023 under pretenses. The trafficking victims were led to believe that they would receive regular pay for their work, only to find themselves exploited as casual laborers without compensation.
The situation came to light when the victims demanded their wages from the employer, only to discover that the money had already been paid to the traffickers. Ndayisenga and Serungaya allegedly facilitated the exploitation, with Ndayisenga acting as the intermediary between the traffickers and victims.
Further investigation revealed that all 14 trafficked Burundians possessed SIM cards registered under Ugandan names, raising concerns about identity theft and fraudulent registration practices. Authorities are now conducting inquiries to determine how non-Ugandans obtained SIM cards registered under Ugandan identities.
In a separate incident, three individuals were apprehended for trafficking three Somali nationals with the intent of selling them into slavery in Libya. Daniel Gatikosh, a South Sudan national, admitted to trafficking the women from Somalia through Kenya to Uganda.
“When we smuggle these women from Somalia, we use Kenyan borders and find ways of making them reach Uganda. Here (Uganda) they spend like a month or two and we then take them to Elgu town from where we find means to reach South Sudan, Sudan, and Libya,” Gatikosh alleged during interrogation.
Gatikosh, Abudhi Khadir, and another man were arrested at Elgu border town a few days ago with the females waiting to cross into South Sudan. “I am a Somali national and I have been doing this job for some months. The girls paid us US$3000 and we were going to sell them for more than $10,000. These people trust us,” Kadhir allegedly said.
Some of the victims were destined for forced labor, while others were targeted for organ harvesting. Kigenyi emphasized the serious risks faced by trafficked individuals, including exploitation, slavery, and violence. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and law enforcement agencies are intensifying efforts to combat human trafficking and hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes.
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