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On October 4, 2023, two individuals, including a South Sudanese refugee and a local resident, were accused of trafficking males from South Darfur. They were apprehended in Uganda, and further investigations revealed the victims were promised a better life but were trafficked.

According to Fred Enanga, a spokesperson for the Uganda Police Force, Maguek Machar, a South Sudanese refugee at the Ocea Refugee Settlement in Madi-Okollo district, and Salih Yonsif, 42, a resident of Tanganyika Cell in Oli Division, Arua City, are accused of committing the crime on October 4, 2023.

Enanga stated that the suspects were apprehended in Sinyanya VLG, which is situated in Maaji Parish, Ukusijoni Sub-County, in Adjuman district, in a Toyota Noah with the license plate SSD 532M, when speaking to the media in Kampala on Wednesday.

Other occupants in the same vehicle were named as: Ibrahim Sana Siddige, 48, Adam Ali Samar, 27, Adam Ali Younies Tanga, 23 plus four minors (names withheld) aged between 10 and 17 years.  Investigations have established that the victims all males had been trafficked from Nyala in South Darfur.

“The suspects convinced the victims that they would help them acquire good basics of life with ease, but as of now, we have handed them over to the Office of the Prime Minister, for further management while the suspects shall be charged with trafficking in persons,” Enanga said.

According to statistics, out of the 1,200 registered human trafficking occurrences in Uganda, at least 526 involve domestic exploitation and 63 involve international exploitation.

The government reported starting legal proceedings against 728 alleged traffickers in 589 instances in 2022, as opposed to 537 people in 403 cases in 2021, according to a 2023 US report on human trafficking in Uganda.

The report also stated that official cooperation in trafficking crimes and corruption continue to be major obstacles to effective law enforcement.