Probe officials involved in human trafficking - US
KAMPALA- The United States has asked the Ugandan government to investigate and prosecute some of its officials accused of complicity in human trafficking crimes.
The new report on Trafficking in Persons, 2018, launched by US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo last week indicated that the Ugandan government did not take action despite some of its officials being implicated in human trafficking.
“The government did not report any prosecutions, or convictions of employees complicit in human trafficking. However, corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained a significant concern, inhibiting law enforcement action during the year,” reads in part the report, which considered human trafficking cases in 2017.
The report ranks Uganda in the second tier, meaning that it does not fully comply with minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000.
The report indicates that “the media continued to report that some of the labour recruitment companies suspected of involvement in trafficking were associated with or partially owned by high-level officials, which impeded law enforcement agencies’ ability to investigate their operations”.
Evidence
Recently, Daily Monitor and NTV investigated cases in which police officers and officials from Office of the Prime Minister were conniving with criminals to traffick refugees into commercial sex. Police promised to investigate and prosecute the suspects but it was not done.
In the report, the US alluded to a November 2015 case in which Uganda declined to waive immunity for a diplomat and his spouse who had allegedly trafficked persons for labour in US. “…the couple has since departed the United States.
The government did not report taking any action during the reporting period to hold the diplomat and his spouse accountable,” the report reads in part. According to the report, 145 human trafficking cases were investigated in Uganda last year, of which 50 ended up in court and 24 traffickers were convicted.
However, there was an improvement in cases reported and convictions last year compared to 2016.
In 2016, police investigated 114 cases but only 32 were prosecuted and 16 convictions secured. At least 276 were identified as victims in 2017 compared to 270 in 2016.
Mr Moses Binoga, the coordinator of the Ugandan National Counter Human Trafficking Taskforce, and Internal Affairs ministry officials said they will not comment until they read the report.
Ugandans, especially women, are trafficked to countries in the Middle East and Asia. Most end up in commercial sex.
