Thirteen girls suspected of trafficking rescued in Uganda
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Nile Post
Thirteen girls suspected of being victims of human trafficking were rescued at the Chanika border post in Kisoro district, Uganda. They are believed to have been brought from DR Congo via Rwanda, and immigration officials identified suspicious signs during their checks, according to their officer Rossette Natumanya, quoted by Nile Post.
Thirteen girls suspected of being victims of trafficking were rescued at the Chanika border post in Kisoro district as security services step up monitoring along the Uganda-Rwanda border. The teenagers are believed to have come from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) via Rwanda, accompanied by an older woman who claimed she was taking them to sports activities, according to Rossette Natumanya, immigration officer at the Chanika post.
The officers became suspicious after seeing the woman travelling with the 13 girls, all dressed in sportswear. Interviews then revealed different statements about their destination: some girls said they wanted to visit their parents, while others said they were looking for work. They were returned to the DRC via Rwanda and reunited with their families, according to Rossette Natumanya.
The incident is the only suspected trafficking case recorded at the Chanika post since 2024, according to immigration services. Rossette Natumanya also said that managing security issues relied on cooperation between Ugandan and Rwandan services, with checkpoints in the districts of Kisoro and Rubanda. The deputy resident commissioner of Kisoro district, Dan Ndikumwami, called on parents to protect children from trafficking networks.
