Police in Elegu Township in 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, Bakaki Yunusu alias Kabbu was arrested on Saturday from his hideout home at Lorikwo West Cell, Elegu Town Council at the Uganda-South Sudan border during a joint intelligence-led operation by security personnel.
The arrest follows a video clip that has gone viral on social medial in which he openly admitted to a BBC reporter that he has been illegally trafficking children from Uganda overseas for over 20 years for 10,000 Pounds, an equivalent of Shs49 million.
A police officer who preferred not to be named, because he is not authorised to speak to the media, disclosed that following the video, the suspect was identified to be a resident of Elegu, prompting the security to pick an interest and mount a search for him.
Amuru Resident District Commissioner, Mr Geoffrey Oceng Osborn, who also doubles as the Chairperson District Security Committee said that upon interrogation, it was established that Kabbu was born in Kibibi Village, Buyala Parish, Budondo Division, Jinja City in Eastern Uganda.
“Security personnel suspect Kabbu, 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,” he said.
Mr Oceng further revealed that the suspect who is facing criminal charges vide GEF 05/2021 will be referred to the Anti-Trafficking in Persons 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 was unclear.
The 2009 anti-trafficking act criminalised 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.urn