Two years ago, a UBC news video brought national attention to a growing pattern of human trafficking through Entebbe International Airport. The footage featured young Ugandan women who had been recruited with promises of jobs abroad, mainly in the Middle East, but ended up in situations of exploitation, abuse, and forced labor.
The video highlighted how traffickers, often posing as labor agents, exploit economic hardship by offering seemingly legitimate job opportunities. With minimal regulation and weak verification systems, many of these girls travel on legal documents but with little understanding of the risks ahead.
Today, this trafficking pipeline remains active, and in some cases, even more entrenched.
At the Center on Anti-Trafficking Research and Empowerment (CATRE), we continue to document cases where young women, particularly from urban slums and rural communities, are being recruited and trafficked under the same false pretenses. Economic vulnerabilities, exacerbated by lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to push families toward risky decisions.
Girls as young as 17 are still being flown out through Entebbe, believing they are headed toward safe employment, only to find themselves in exploitative environments, often without pay, freedom, or recourse.
The UBC news video remains a vital reminder that the issue is far from resolved. It captured not just an incident, but an ongoing system that continues to affect some of Uganda’s most vulnerable populations.
CATRE calls on policymakers, community leaders, and the public to revisit the video and reflect on the conditions that still allow trafficking to flourish. Greater accountability, regulation, and awareness are urgently needed to protect Uganda’s youth.
👉 Watch the UBC News Video on Human Trafficking Through Entebbe Airport