KAMPALA – Police in Elegu town, Amuru district are holding a 44-year-old Ugandan who has been on a wanted list of serial child abductors and traffickers in the country.
The suspect, Yunus Bakaki was arrested on Saturday from his hideout at Lorikwo West cell, Elegu town council at the Uganda-South Sudan border during a joint intelligence-led operation.
Bakiki’s arrest followed a video clip that went viral on social medial in, which he openly admitted, in a report how he was illegally trafficking children from Uganda to overseas for over 20 years at a cost of 10,000 Pounds (Ugx48 million).
A police source revealed that after the social media video, the suspect was identified to be a resident of Elegu, prompting the security to swing into action.
Amuru Resident District Commissioner – RDC, Geoffrey Oceng Osborn, who doubles as the chairperson district security committee said that upon interrogation, it was established that Bakaki is a born of Kibibi village, Buyala parish, Budondo division, Jinja city in Eastern Uganda.
Oceng explained that security believe Bakaki, who is a driver and runs a restaurant in the area to be engaging in multiple criminal activities at the border including possible links to the sudden disappearance of persons and children in Elegu.
Oceng further revealed that the suspect who is facing criminal charges vide GEF 05/2021 will be referred to the Anti-Trafficking in Person’s Desk in Kampala for further investigations.
The 2020 Police Annual Crime Report indicates that a total of 666 persons were victims of Trafficking in Persons compared to 455 victims in 2019.
Of the 666 victims in 2020, 497 were victims of transnational trafficking, 166 internal trafficking while the status of 03 victims were unclear.
The 2009 anti-trafficking act criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed punishments of up to 15 years’ imprisonment for offenses involving adult victims and up to life imprisonment for those involving child victims.
