The Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development has set up an investigative committee to identify and prosecute perpetrators, as well as extend support to victims of the sexual trafficking ring recently exposed in a BBC documentary. 

In a statement issued in response to the shocking revelations, the state minister for Gender and Labor pledged to dismantle all networks involved in human trafficking, though he expressed frustration that many suspects are highly connected and protected within government circles, hindering the ministry’s efforts to eliminate the vice in the labor export sector.

This follows an emotional and thrilling documentary published on the 15th of September by a BBC Documentary, which exposed wild sinister revelations of sexual trafficking where innocent young girls from Uganda are taken to the United Arab Emirates for excessive sexual exploitation.

Today, the state minister for Gender and Labor, Esther Davania Anyakun, issued a statement in response to the documentary, in which she disclosed the ministry’s establishment of an investigative committee aimed to identify, comprehend, and prosecute all individuals, both within and abroad, who are involved in the trafficking and sexual exploitation of Ugandan girls in the United Arab Emirates.

According to the minister, the initiative is also aimed at identifying and evacuating the sexual trafficking ring victims, as well as extending support to them, as the minister expounds.

In the same spirit, she implored all Ugandans interested in traveling abroad for employment to always acquaint themselves with proper and certified labor export companies to avoid the vulnerability of being exposed to selfish and cunning human traffickers.

According to the Ministry of Gender, the government is reaping big from the Externalization of Labor program. Since 2016, more than 280,000 Ugandans have secured jobs abroad, most earning salaries of at least 900,000 shillings.

In 2024 alone, migrant workers remitted 1.3 billion US dollars, a major boost to household incomes and community growth. The program has also generated 34.2 billion shillings in non-tax revenue for the government since 2021.

But despite the gains, concerns over the welfare of Ugandan migrant workers, particularly in the Middle East, remain a pressing challenge the government says it must address.