Uganda: Police rescue eight juveniles from human traffickers in Mbale

In a joint operation, police in Mbale, Cherished Children Foundation, and Project Rescue Children Foundation on Tuesday rescued eight juveniles from a house in Namatala cell, Nabuyonga Ward, where they were being held by a suspected human trafficker.

The children (five girls and three boys), aged between 10 and 16, were lured from their homes with promises of well-paying jobs and education sponsorship.

"I was brought from Sironko with promises of a job and school fees payment," said a 10-year-old girl.

Mr Steve Bright Kilya, Officer in Charge of Namatala Police Station, led the operation, resulting in the arrest of one suspect.

“We were approached by officials from Cherished Children and Project Rescue Children Foundations who had Intel about those children and together with our team we swung in action and rescued them and arrested the suspect,” he noted.

Mr Julius Ezra Ssebuliba, founder of Cherished Children Foundation, noted that they acted on intelligence about the suspect hiding the children.

“After a long, such a man, whom the victims called ‘Uncle’ was arrested in connection of trafficking those kids. He refused to tell us his name,” he said.

Mr. Adam Whittington, founder of Project Rescue Children, funded the operation and emphasised their commitment to helping children.

"We aim to sensitise children to prevent human trafficking," he said.

The rescue comes a few days after Uganda joined the world in commemorating World Anti-Human Trafficking Day on July 17.

The 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report by the US Embassy placed Uganda in Tier 2, recognising progress in fighting human trafficking. Uganda registered 1,006 human trafficking incidents in 2023 compared to 1200 in 2022.

The report further adds that 589 suspected traffickers were prosecuted in 2023 in 494 cases, compared to 728 individuals prosecuted in 2022.