By Anzoo Evaline.

Police in Adjumani have rescued 9 foreign nationals believed to be victims of human trafficking who were being transported from Kenya through Uganda to Libya with promises of lucrative jobs.

According to Police, the victims – four from Kenya, three from Somalia, and two from Eritrea; were intercepted after Adjumani Police Station received information from Gloria indicating that a friend from Kenya, Olupot Joseph, had contacted her. He reported that his brother and several others were being detained at a guest house called IQM, located within Adjumani Town. The information raised suspicion.

Acting promptly, police officers, with the assistance of GPS technology, conducted a raid on the guest house. During the operation, nine individuals—one female adult and eight males—were found staying in two separate rooms.

During an interview, Fatima Mohamed, 16, an Eritrean, narrated her story, explaining that they had been trafficked by unknown persons who promised them job in Sudan and Libya.

“We were going to Juba to work. A young man called Sumani, he told me that he would get me a good job. This young man told me to throw away my phone and keep quiet, and then he would give me work there. We never saw their faces or their numbers. They just put us in a taxi. The taxi came from Uganda. They said they were taking us to collect bottles. I didn’t tell anyone everything. They told us, “Don’t tell anyone the name of the person; it’s a secret.” Now the Ugandan government has found out about these bad people and they have helped us I am so happy,” Fatima explained.

Abdu Rashid Ali, 24, Kenyan, also said that the person has used different drivers to transport them across from Nairobi to Kampala and later to Adjumani where they have been rescued by police in one of the hotels called IQM in Oudrueyi village.

“We are being travelled by different drivers from Nairobi to where we are. Thanks to the Adjumani police officers who are freed us, and then and they have given us good advices, helped us. And here we are doing well. The police have given us something to eat and a very good place to sleep. I don’t have more information about those people who are traveling us, but the journey was to begin from Nairobi up to Libya to Juba where they have promised us a good life, a good money, and I better job opportunities. It was just through phones and they were not even speaking to us,” said Abdu Ali.

He further added that “We were not allowed to communicate. We were not allowed to use our phones and especially our SIM cards like Safaricom and Airtel. They feared maybe one of our parents could track us or give the information to the police. Instructions were following the rules. No more questions. Just follow the rules you were given.”

Adjumani District Police Commander (DPC), SP Masembe Herbert, confirmed the incident, noting that the victims are currently under police protection as investigations continue to identify and arrest the perpetrators behind the trafficking network.

“I want to be categorically specific. These are victims. They are not suspects in police custody. They are here for safe custody as we process and link them with their relatives to be taken back home. Following our investigation, we so far have one person in custody who was in the process of trafficking them to Southern Sudan until when they were going to be trafficked up to Libya. So, as of now we have one suspect whom we are interrogating but we are also hunting for others who are in that racket. And we want to assure the public that we shall get there and we shall update the public. We are working hand in hand with immigration and then the commissioner in charge of human trafficking for the Uganda police force. To see that they are taken away from here but handed over to the right people who are their relatives and then they are taken back home,” said SP Masembe

The Deputy RDC Adjumani, Emmanuel Okware, warned the public, especially young people, against falling prey to human traffickers who lure victims with false promises of overseas employment.

“Human trafficking is against international law. We must ensure that people avoid getting involved in human trafficking. It’s against the rights of the people being trafficked, but they’re behind the scenes there are always people who are benefiting. So, we want to condemn this act. We want to condemn the financiers of this act, and we want to appeal to people to provide information to the institutions charged with responsibility of keeping law and order in the country. So, we want to appeal to the intelligence arm to continue doing a good job they are doing to provide to dig out some of these challenges we have,” Deputy RDC stated.

The Police PRO of North West Nile region, SP Asea Collins, in his report urged everyone to be vigilant and report any information that can lead to the arrest of the suspect involve in this trafficking incident.

“We urge anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspect involved in this trafficking incident to come forward. The investigation remains ongoing,” said SP Asea police PRO.  

Meanwhile, the rescued victims are receiving psychosocial support and basic assistance from relevant authorities and humanitarian agencies as arrangements are being made to repatriate them to their respective countries.

The police have vowed to strengthen border surveillance and collaborate with neighbouring countries to combat the growing threat of human trafficking in the region.

END.