Former State House employees named in human trafficking
Mr Samuel Tumwesigye and Lt. Col. Theodore Lockwood who have been key in rescuing the women who have been taken as slaves to Iraq.
What you need to know:
The accused, who began the business in 2008, are said to have sold more than 150 women into slavery in Iraq.
Kampala
A Ugandan registered company that has been at the centre of slavery allegations in Iraq since 2008 is being run by individuals previously working at State House, Mr Ladislaus Rwakafuzi, a senior human rights lawyer, has revealed.
The claims of human trafficking first gained momentum in 2009, when the National Organisation for Trade Unions (Notu) announced it had sufficient evidence that seven Ugandan women had been sold to slavery in Iraq.
Now according to Mr Rwakafuzi, an estimated 130 of these women are still in Iraq, working under deplorable inhuman conditions, facing physical and psychological abuse, including rape and sodomy. “The directors of that company worked in State House and are politically connected. It is a pity that under the guise of helping veterans, Ugandans are being sold to slavery,” Mr Rwakafuzi said, adding: “The state continues to remain silent about it.”
Lt. Col. Chris Mudoola and Ms Grace Kanyike are directors of the Uganda Veterans Development Ltd, the company accused of selling over 150 women to slavery in Iraq. The company is licensed as a labour export organisation by the Gender and Labour Ministry.
Lt. Col. Mudoola is the former MP for Kigulu North. He headed the famous Mudoola Commission of Inquiry that investigated the crash of a Russian Ilyushin IL-76 plane at Entebbe Airport. Little is, however, known of Ms Kanyike. “Let them produce proof. The matter is in court,” Lt. Col. Mudoola said. “In fact, their lawyer withdrew the initial charge,” he added. When contacted, Ms Grace Kanyikye could not be reached yesterday. “We are still pursuing this matter,” Lawyer Rwakafuzi said.
Daily Monitor learnt that at least 17 women have been rescued and repatriated by the International Organisation for Migration with the help of the US army. Key in rescuing the women were Lt. Col. Theodore Lockwood, a US Army officer and Mr Samuel Tumwesigye, then a private security guard with Askar Security in Camp Slayer in Baghdad.
In a suit filed in June at the High Court, the company is accused of luring 12 women into slavery in Iraq. It is believed between 2008 and 2010, the 150 women were promised jobs as shopkeepers and supermarket attendants in American-run military camps, only to be sold to Iraqi homes as house slaves.
The DPP, the Uganda Human Rights Commission and other relevant government organs have ignored this matter. Lawyer Rwakafuzi even expressed fear for his life saying “powerful people are involved.” “Due diligence is done by security organisation on companies that want to export labour,” the head of the Labour Export Unit, Mr Milton Turyasiima said, adding that 19 companies are licensed to export labour.
“We have received reports on human trafficking and we have always diligently investigated them,” Police Spokesperson Asuman Mugyeni said, without giving specifics.
Makindye West MP Hussein Kyanjo was very vocal about the matter, which almost led to a delegation of MPs visiting Iraq. The trip, however, never materialised.
Askar Security proprietor Kellen Kayonga later travelled to Iraq and met the victims, where Mr Tumwesigye then initiated the rescue efforts. “I was told by two Ugandan colleagues that there were Ugandan women sold into slavery. I established contact with one of them and later approached Lt. Col. Lockwood for help,” Mr Tumwesigye said.
“The FBI took Mr Tumwesigye’s statement, but stated that since the women were not American citizens and not contractors with the US government, the FBI was powerless,” Lt. Col. Lockwood said in a statement. Col. Mudoola said the ‘so-called victims’ signed consent forms to work as housemaids: “We have our documents,” he said, declining to comment further.
Lt. Col. Lockwood travelled to Uganda, hoping the legal system would need his testimony over the matter - his stay was fruitless. “My biggest concern is the 100 plus women still tied in Iraq. I do want justice for these women who have returned home, but more importantly, I want freedom for those who are yet to return,” Lt. Col. Lockwood told this reporter in an email recently.
