Joint security, leaders vow to end child trafficking in Karamoja
They promised to intensify the campaign against child trafficking at the grass-roots level.
Karamoja: The joint security commanders and senior leaders have pledged to end child trafficking as one of the criminal acts in the Karamoja Subregion.
The senior leaders re-echoed their stand as they met on Tuesday during a joint stakeholders meeting chaired by Major General Don William Nabasa and attended by security, judicial officers, and district leaders from Napak district local government held at Lopeei Sub County headquarters in Napak district.
Major General Don William Nabasa, 3rd Division Commander of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), asserted that child trafficking renders a security threat to the country if not tackled.
“We must tackle child trafficking at grassroots to save the plight of Karamojongo children and guarantee their future,” Gen. Nabasa emphasized.
He urged parents to be responsible, ensure the discipline of their children, and timely report cases of human or child trafficking or the disappearance of their children to authorities.
The Division Commander appealed to leaders to talk to parents to strike a balance between their love for livestock, which they treasure so much, and their children. He encouraged local leaders and parents to engage in and embrace production initiatives like the Parish Development Model and compulsory education in order to foster socio-economic transformation.
Mr. Okori Denis, Resident District Commissioner for Napak, noted that the district council made a deliberate effort and resolution that no repatriated child from Kampala and other urban centers should go home but rather stay in the two earmarked boarding schools.
He called for the Usalama Kwa Wote approach of profiling some collaborators and agents of human trafficking who are profiting from the venture.
The Regional Police Commander for Mount Moroto Regional, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Francis Chemusto, explained that the strict enforcement of the laws on child and human trafficking will not spare any offenders and promised to strengthen community policing as well.
Hon. Paul Kodet, Napak District Chairperson, mentioned that Lokopo, Lopeei, and Lorengccorwa primary schools have been mapped out for child protection programs.
In February 2024, through collaborative efforts, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) conducted an enforcement operation and rounded up 1044 people (youth, children, and women) out of whom 938 were found to be from Napak upon screening.
One hundred fifty persons were sentenced to one month of community service by court; 60 were taken for skilling, while 308 students, ages 6–15, were enrolled in Lotome Girls and Lokodiokodioi primary schools. Whereas, 138 children under under the age of 5 remained in the Masulita UWESO children’s home for ECD training.
The meeting found out that the root causes of child and human trafficking stem from poverty, peer influence, early or forced marriages, diseases, and criminality, among others. A number of resolutions were made aimed at ending child and human trafficking.
The senior leaders, who also toured and interacted with pupils in the two schools, thanked partners, namely UNICEF, Koinonia Ministries, Uganda Change Agent Association (UCAA), Dwelling Places, and C&D Moroto, for their continued support in the provision of scholastic materials to repatriated children in the two schools.
They promised to intensify the campaign against child trafficking at the grass-roots level.
Maj. Isaac Oware, the 3rd division army spokesperson, confirmed this, saying the meeting was attended by Mr. Achoko Abraham Moding Chief Magistrate Moroto, Lt. Col. Deo Kagoro, Director of Operations Usalama Kwa Wote (ISO), Lt. Col. Morris Twongeirwe, 403 BOTO, Ms. Florence Talamoi, Principal Education Officer, councilors, and LC 1 Chairpersons, among others.
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