Police downplays human trafficking report

Only five cases of human trafficking were registered since this year began, most of them involving foreigners using Rwanda as a transit route, downplaying reports that the crime is rampant in the country, Police Spokesperson, Supt. Theos Badege, said.He was reacting to the 2012 Trafficking in persons report that condemns Rwanda as a source and, to a lesser extent, transit and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labour and human trafficking. The US State Department released the report last week.Among the registered cases, Badege said, include two Ugandan girls who were intercepted at Kigali International Airport en route to Malaysia and an 18-year old Burundian girl who was also arrested at the border to Rwanda, who was similarly headed to the East Asian country.The two Ugandans, who entered the country by road, were arrested as they tried to board Qatar Airways and handed over to Interpol-Uganda.Badege clarified that there was only one case of human trafficking involving a Rwandan girl, who he said was recruited when she was in Uganda for her studies. She successfully managed to travel to Malaysia. “But we have so far located her and plans are underway to bring her back,” said Badege.The report stated that Rwandan women and children are recruited and transported to Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, China and Europe, among others, where they are subjected to sexual exploitation and forced labour in agricultural, domestic and industrial slavery.The report cited a January 2012 case where several Congolese refugee children from Nyabiheke refugee camp in Gatsibo District were lured into sexual activities in Uganda, on promises of well-off jobs.“As far as Rwanda is concerned, human trafficking is not rampant; yes, we have registered very few related cases, but almost all of them involve people intercepted at our outlets trying to use Rwanda as a transit,” said Badege.In January, last year, Police unearthed a racket involving 54 male Bangladeshi nationals who were trafficked into the country and housed in two residential houses in Gikondo and Kacyiru, and were en route to Mozambique. Last month, two Rwandans, Walter Bwanakweli and Valentin Rukimbira were also arrested as they attempted to traffick girls to China for commercial sex on the guise of getting them better jobs.The two suspects, whose trial began at the Intermediate Court of Nyarugenge early this month, had recruited six girls, three of whom were slated to travel the following week at the time of their arrest,. “We take human trafficking as a serious crime, and that’s why we have initiated measures to be ahead of it…as preventive measures,” he added.Among the measures initiated to counter the crime, according to Badege, are awareness campaigns to inform the public on the repercussions, special training of officers and closer cooperation with regional security organs to jointly fight crimes.The Eastern African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPCCO) organs committee meeting held in Kigali in February stepped up measures for regional countries to partner in combating transboundary crimes, including human trafficking.EAPCCO, currently headed by IGP Emmanuel Gasana, brings together 12 regional countries.Plans are underway to host the first ever Police Command Post Exercise to standardise the EAPCCO operating procedures with human trafficking among the agenda, according to Badege.About 79 per cent of cases related to trafficking of persons, target girls and women for sexual exploitation, according to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report.It is estimated that more than 2.4 million people are exploited by criminals annually. Several organisations draw attention to Uganda as a major human trafficking route in the region. The International Organisation of Migration (IOM) expressed concern over increased trafficking of Ugandan women to Asian countries. According to media reports, IOM says victims of trafficking whom it has helped to return to Uganda are reportedly subjected to sexual slavery, rape and torture.Reports indicate there may be as many as 600 trafficked Ugandan women currently in Malaysia, with between 10 and 20 more arriving each week.

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Police downplays human trafficking report