By Our Reporter
NATIONAL
The issue of Ugandans being victims of human trafficking in Myanmar gained widespread attention in 2023. Many Ugandans are deceived by promises of better-paying jobs in Thailand, Cambodia, and China, only to be trafficked to Myanmar, where they are forced to work in modern slavery conditions, engaging in illegal online scamming activities controlled by criminal gangs.
What you need to know:
Ambassador Betty Bigombe, Uganda’s High Commissioner to Thailand, has said behind the scenes are diplomatic manoeuvres with the relevant authorities, captors and rebels to secure the release of Ugandans who have been trafficked to Myanmar.
The Ambassador to Thailand has also emphasized the need for increased government efforts to combat human trafficking. “We call upon the government to increase efforts in combating human trafficking in Uganda,” Ambassador Betty said. “Many Ugandans are lured to work in Myanmar online scam centres, where they end up suffering. Many agents are operating in Uganda, and almost every day, Ugandans fall victim.”
Several reports indicate that most of the trafficked Ugandans are youth, who are well-trained especially IT graduates. They have been lured to Myanmar, under false promises of lucrative job offers.
Upon arrival, however, they are subjected to human trafficking schemes orchestrated by criminal cartels in rebel-controlled territories. Contrary to earlier claims suggesting Ugandan involvement in rebel activities, Ambassador Bigombe clarified that the captives were exploited in slave-like conditions, forced to work long hours, and used to perpetrate online scams targeting individuals worldwide.
“When they get there, they are huddled into these camps and their phones taken away, passports removed, are ushered into some kind of shelters housing about 10 people in one room, and told to work for 20 hours a day. In the first week, they’re also trained to scam people and tasked to mobilise $10000 per head daily,” Ambassador Betty expounded.
In Myanmar, the trapped Ugandans face harrowing experiences of living in squalid dormitories, enduring brutal working conditions for up to 20 hours a day, and facing physical abuse if they fail to comply with orders. Despite the promise of financial gain, they are hardly paid for their labor, a stark betrayal of the hopes they had when they initially left Uganda.
The revelations were made during a meeting between Ambassador Betty Bigombe, Ambassador Abbey Walusimbi and officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at President’s Office in Kampala.
Ambassador Abbey Walusimbi, the Senior Presidential Advisor on Diaspora Affairs, confirmed that the traffickers recruit desperate Ugandans via fictitious websites, as most victims respond to online advertisements for high-paying jobs in Thailand and Malaysia.
According to Ambassador Walusimbi, when the Ugandans embark on the journeys by air, via Addis Ababa, they are received by the traffickers at the designated places, and they are then transferred to Myanmar via boats or road to rebel-controlled areas.
“This is coordinated and organized criminality whereby unsuspecting Ugandans take pictures at Entebbe & Addis Ababa Airports to send to their receivers in Thailand. Upon arrival at Sukhumvit Airport, Bangkok, Thailand, they’re ordered to go through exit gate 8, put in a van driven for 12 hours up to border of Thailand and Myanmar, where they get on a boat to rebel-controlled territories,” Ambassador Walusimbi asserted.
The plight of Ugandans in Myanmar sheds light on the broader issue of human trafficking in Asia, where criminal syndicates prey on vulnerable individuals from various countries. There are still many of our sons and daughters, including a daughter of a prominent late soldier, who are still stuck in “scam factories” along Myanmar’s border with Thailand.
“Due to numerous ordeals from affected individuals, Ambassador Betty Bigombe has appealed to President’s Office to secure the release of Ugandans trafficked to Myanmar, under the guise of jobs. As Ambassador Abbey Walusimbi, I agree to coordinate efforts to expedite negotiations for release of His President Museveni’s Bazukulu who are trapped in Myanmar.”
Walusimbi also suggested the need to create a cooperation framework in immigration and anti-trafficking, interagency coordination, negotiations and networking between governments of Uganda, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, China, Ministries in charge of Foreign & Internal Affairs, President’s Office, labour recruitment agencies, International Organization for Migration, Kyeyo Initiative and Migrant Workers Associations, among others.
“There are deep concerns regarding issuance of tourism visas to individuals involved in human trafficking. Our target should be to stop local agents. As stakeholders, and a united team, we should push for collaboration between countries and international agencies to combat this modern slavery and ensure safety and orderly labour migration worldwide.”
Apparently, hundreds of Ugandans, including pregnant girls are still stuck in Myanmar. Both government officials reaffirm that there are ongoing logistical government efforts to repatriate them, through the neighbouring Thailand, which has accepted the screening of 300 of them a day, out of 100,000 different nationals that the Myanmar rebel groups have released.
In a related development, The Pearl of Africa Business Forum & Expo focusing on tourism, agriculture, ICT, minerals, oil and gas will take place from April 23-24, 2025, at the Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The same business to business meeting, organized by the Uganda High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, will also be help in May 2025, in Indonesia.
Ultimately, there is need for government to treat human trafficking as a security threat. So, the government has to organize rehabilitation programs for returnees, enabling them to recover from their traumatic experiences and providing them with capital to start afresh.
The meeting also had Kaine Sonile Muhhuku, Foreign Service Officer at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among others.
