KAMPALA – There was loud wailing at Entebbe Airport on Thursday as family and friends received two bodies of their relatives who died in Kuwait, having gone there to work in May.
The bodies of Mujjuzi John Torres and Bekalaze Charles, whose cause of death is still a mystery, were then taken to Mulago Hospital for a postmortem. The third body of Moses Kiwanuka is expected in the country on Friday.
Addressing journalists at the airport, the deceased’s families said Spotlight Recruitment International, the company which had taken them to Kuwait, did not help them until they sought help from State House Anti-Corruption Unit last week.
The directors of Spotlight Recruitment International have since been arrested by Police and interrogations into human trafficking of persons are ongoing.
State House Anti-Corruption Unit has been investigating labor externalization and recruitment agencies as a response to a president’s call who has been concerned on the developments and now the unit wants all licenses of companies under investigations suspended.
In August, police, in collaboration with State House Anti-Corruption Unit, arrested two senior officials of Middle East Consultants Ltd, a labour export company, for allegedly defrauding 27 youth of Shs51 billion after promising them employment in the Middle East.
The accused were paraded before journalists at the Anti-Corruption Unit offices in Kampala.
The Head of State House Anti-Corruption Unit, Lt Col Edith Nakalema, said: “Labour externalisation of Ugandans has been going on and on July 17, we launched an investigation into the complaints that involve 27 youth. We have got a list of 30 companies in labour externalisation involved in the mistreatment of Ugandans. Four of these are the key players in the suffering of Ugandans,” she said.
