The Uganda Police Force reported that two individuals have been apprehended on suspicion of human trafficking in the regions of Rwenzori East and Kasese. The suspects are currently in custody, and they have been identified as Muhindo Shafik, a 21-year-old supervisor at Kasanda Sugar Company, residing in Nyarukongu village, and Masereka Bernard, a 19-year-old boda boda rider from Munango village.
The incident took place on September 26, 2023, around 10 a.m., when the boda boda rider, Masereka Bernard, picked up Mumbere Ferguson from Kasese taxi park and subsequently facilitated his disappearance. Upon being arrested, Masereka Bernard revealed that he had been hired by Muhindo Shafik to recruit teenagers and young adults, aged 14 to 18, for casual labor at a sugar factory in Kasanda district.
On October 10, 2023, Muhindo Shafik was taken into custody in Kilembe, Kasese, where he had been attempting to recruit more individuals, particularly children. He admitted to having recruited 24 children thus far, acting under the instructions of a certain Emma, who serves as a manager at Kasanda Sugar Factory.
Muhindo Shafik also disclosed that Emma arranges for vehicles to transport the children from Kasese to Kasanda Sugar Factory, with the driver being compensated upon their arrival. Ongoing efforts are being made to locate and recover Mumbere Ferguson, a 15-year-old resident of Katadoba cell in central division, Kasese district.
