Court Convicts Two Middle East Consultants Bosses for Human Trafficking, Orders Each to Pay UGX 9 Million

Two bosses of Middle East Consultants have been convicted by the International Crimes Division of the High Court on charges of attempting to traffic 50 migrant workers.

Godfrey Kyalimpa, the Recruitment and Vetting Officer, and Benon Kunywana, the General Manager, pleaded guilty to three charges of promoting trafficking and forgery.

The prosecution, led by Jacquelyn Okui, reached a plea bargain agreement with the defendants' lawyer, taking into account the circumstances of the case. "Due to the rise in trafficking in persons, the prosecution emphasizes the need to punish offenders to deter future offenses," Okui told court.

Justice Richard Wejuli Wabwire sentenced each convict to pay a fine of UGX 2 million for each count of promoting trafficking, with a risk of two years' imprisonment. Additionally, for the count of forgery, they were fined UGX 3 million or faced three years' imprisonment.

According to the prosecution's case, Kyalimpa and Kunywana attempted to traffic 50 immigrant workers at Entebbe International Airport on February 12, 2019. They also forged an official document, a clearance list for migrant workers, with a purported signature from Mr Lawrence Egulu of the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development.

Further investigation revealed that Mr Egulu's signature had been scanned and placed on the document without his participation in the clearing of the migrant workers. The travel plans of the 227 workers were canceled pending the investigation. The Ministry confirmed the forgery upon examination of the list, which indicated that only 227 workers had been cleared, not 277 as indicated on the document.