By ARU Communications Team……………
The Uganda Episcopal Conference (UEC), together with John Paul II Justice and Peace Center
(JPIIJPC), Association of Religious in Uganda (ARU), Mwagale Foundation and St. Bakhita Network Uganda, in collaboration with other partners, held a National Day of Prayer to raise awareness on Trafficking in Persons on September 13, 2024 at Old Kampala Senior Secondary School Play grounds.
The prayer was presided over by the Most Rev. Paul Ssemogerere, the Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese who also doubled as the chief guest. The day was guided by 2024 Theme for World Day Against Trafficking in Persons; “Leave no child behind in the fight against human trafficking.”
The Most Rev. Paul Ssemogerere noted that religious leaders are deeply troubled by this injustice of human trafficking in Uganda and the world at large. He said that millions of people are trapped in modern day slavery, forced into labor, prostitution and other forms of exploitation and children as young as five years old are being exploited and abused.
The Archbishop appealed to the public to stand firm and fight against this evil on behalf of the country and on behalf of God and reminded them that as people of faith they are compelled to act and to stand in solidarity with the victims and survivors.
“I would to encourage our offices and the organizations that are advocating against Human Trafficking not to be discouraged but to continue doing this and let people reawaken the society. We should not give up, because I think by coming together and praying, God is on our side and we shall have fruits of our efforts.” he proclaimed.
Present also was the Secretary General, UEC, Mgsr John Baptist Kauta, the vice president of ARU, Fr. John Bosco Kamoga, Representative Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Nambalirwa Azena and Mr. Basaalirwa Mugenyi Derrick, the Deputy National Coordinator in the office of prevention of trafficking in persons, who represented the minister of internal affairs in Uganda.
Mgsr John Baptist condemned the abhorrent crime against humanity, which according to him has unfortunately been normalized, institutionalized, systematized, and economized in Uganda by even the structures of power.
On behalf of ARU, Fr. Kamoga called upon everyone to be the voice of the voiceless and to amplify the cries of those persons who have been dehumanized and have found themselves victims of this unfortunate business. He also observed that beyond prayers, as church leaders, as faith organizations and as ministries, there is need to stand and speak about the push factors or aspects that make the young people even after hearing ordeal stories of survivors and victims, continue to pursue this path.
“We need to stand as prophets to denounce the rampant levels of youth unemployment in our country, the shameful cases of corruption at different levels of society, the rising attitudes of apathy at the suffering of others, the normalization of cases of dehumanization and excessive levels of greed in our country.” Fr. Kamoga vehemently stated
In a hopeful statement issued by the ministry of internal affairs and presented by Mr. Basaalirwa, it was revealed that the 2023 Counter-Trafficking in Persons Report indicated a decline in the number of cases as compared to the year 2022 from 1,200 to 1,006 and this, he emphasized was a very tremendous result that came out of all efforts by parties involved in combating trafficking in persons.
He (Mr. Mugenyi) also pointed out that 97.86% of the cases happen within the country and only 2.14% represent the transnational or the cross-border cases of trafficking in persons. He then called for more effort within the country, more attention to everyone within the country to create awareness of the reality that most of the cases are domestic
Highlighting on international trafficking in persons, Mr. Mugenyi disclosed that most Ugandans end up in the Middle East, Asia and with the recent attention through the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Organization for Migration, 23 Ugandans were repatriated from Myanmar as victims of trafficking in persons and these were brought back home safely.
The National Day of Prayer against Human Trafficking was Ecumenical in nature and saw different leaders from other faiths join to pray against this issue that affects everyone. Among the faith leaders present were; Mr. Kasule Moses from Bahai, Pastor Kamiza John from the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Reverand Christopher from the Church of Uganda, Sheikh Hamid Sserwadda Busungu who is the Regional Assistant Mufuti Kampala and Captain David Ssentongo from the Salvation Army Church.
Pictorial highlights of of the Vigil Mass at St. Peter’s Nsambya Catholic Parish and at Old Kampala S.S.S