Police arrest two alleged human traffickers over woman’s rape in Oman

Police spokesperson, Mr Fred Enanga. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • The 2017 police crime report indicated that crimes of human trafficking rose by 29.3 per cent. A total of 177 cases were registered in 2017 compared to 125 registered in 2016. The number of victims increased by 15.4 per cent and women were most victims followed by children.

Police in Kampala have arrested two people who allegedly trafficked, Ms Moreen Mbabazi, to a Middle East country, Oman where she was repeatedly gang raped and sodomised.

Police spokesperson, Mr Fred Enanga, on Monday told journalists at a weekly press briefing at the Police headquarters in Naguru that they are holding Mr Emmanuel Sekayiba and Ms Jane Namusoke who allegedly trafficked Ms Mbabazi to Oman where she suffered sexual harassment.

Mr Enanga said Ms Mbabazi alongside two other girls were trafficked to Oman in May 2018 through Busia border to Nairobi and then to Oman. On arrival, their phones and passports were confiscated and Ms Mbabazi was immediately retained by her agent in Oman only identified as Mohammed.

“The agent immediately forced her into acts of sexual slavery. The office turned brothel, where she was repeatedly raped by the agent and six other men. Since then she was turned into a sex object,” Mr Enanga said.

Three months in Oman, Ms Mbabazi’s situation worsened and through a Nigerian lady, she established contact with Mr Sekayiba whom she requested to help her return home.

Mr Sekayiba instead travelled to Oman and transferred her to another home where she was further subjected to rape by the husband in the home. She again accessed a mobile phone and sent a WhatsApp message to her family in Uganda to do all they could to rescue her.

“Through various efforts, she returned to Uganda on February 20, 2019 and reported a case of human trafficking at Kira Road police station. Upon examination, she was discovered with a loose anus,” Mr Enanga said.

Ms Mbabazi is currently under the care of Ms Sophie Namutebi alias Maama Fiina as she awaits justice to be delivered.

“We want to inform members of the public, particularly females that sexual exploitation is real. We want to thank Maama Fiina Foundation for observing her treatment and recovery,” Mr Enanga said.

He said the two suspects will soon be arraigned in court to face charges of human trafficking.

Report
The 2017 police crime report indicated that crimes of human trafficking rose by 29.3 per cent. A total of 177 cases were registered in 2017 compared to 125 registered in 2016. The number of victims increased by 15.4 per cent and women were most victims followed by children.

Transnational trafficking counted for 249 out of 335 overall victims. Uganda was a destination of six foreigners from Rwanda and Somalia. Female children were the most internally trafficked compared to their male counterparts.

Oman accounted for 26.8 per cent out of 258 people trafficked out of Uganda in 2018 whereas Kenya and Thailand came in second and third positions respectively. Ten victims that had been trafficked to Oman returned with mental disorders and physical signs of torture and mistreatment.

At least 131 out of 178 suspects arrested over human trafficking were charged in court whereby 17 were convicted by close of the year, 2018. 148 out of 249 girls trafficked to Asian countries were rescued alive whereas 90 were still stranded and one was recovered dead.