Over 150 children rescued from suspected labour exploitation in Zombo

Zombo, Uganda: Authorities in Zombo District have launched a crackdown on suspected child labour exploitation after security intercepted 155 casual labourers, most of them children under 13 years, who had been secretly transported to work at a coffee nursery in a remote part of the district.

The operation was revealed after the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Zombo, Festus Ayikobua, directed security agencies to pursue suspects involved in the recruitment, transportation and exploitation of the group, which also included mothers carrying infants.

The labourers were reportedly ferried from Erussi Sub-county in Nebbi District to Alangi Sub-county in Zombo District, arriving last Wednesday and remaining undocumented until local leaders raised alarm on Friday.

According to Ayikobua, the movement of the group was unknown to local security structures and lacked any form of registration or authorisation.

“After intercepting these individuals in Alangi, we brought them to Paidha, and from there I contacted my counterpart RDC in Nebbi,” Ayikobua said in an interview.

He noted that many of those intercepted were minors aged 13 years and below, alongside women with infants, raising red flags over potential child labour exploitation, unlawful recruitment and possible trafficking for labour purposes.

“No prior notification was made to the authorities in Alangi, and there were no documents explaining who brought them, why they were brought or under what conditions they were to work,” Ayikobua said.

Following the intervention, the group was transported back to Nebbi District in the same truck that had delivered them, where district authorities have since taken over responsibility for family tracing, reunification and child protection interventions.

Ayikobua stressed that while the immediate safety of the children had been secured, accountability must follow.

“While the minors have been returned home, those responsible for orchestrating this operation must face arrest and prosecution to prevent a recurrence of such exploitative practices involving unlawful recruitment of children and forced migration for labour,” he said.

One female labourer interviewed told authorities she had been misled by promises of well-paying work, prompting her to travel hastily without verifying the nature or legality of the job.

Security officials said investigations are ongoing to establish the identity of the coordinators who transported the labourers for hard manual work without documentation or clearance from local authorities.

The incident mirrors a growing pattern in the region. Last month, authorities in Zombo intercepted a driver transporting more than 30 youths from Aka Sub-county to farms in Western Uganda under false promises of employment. Earlier this year, another suspect was arrested in Paidha Town Council over allegations of trafficking youths to farms in Masindi.

Ayikobua called for heightened community vigilance, stronger inter-district coordination, and tighter monitoring of cross-district movements to curb deceptive recruitment, child labour exploitation and trafficking in persons.

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics National Labour Force Survey 2021, about 39.5 per cent of children aged 5–17, an estimated 6.2 million, were engaged in child labour, excluding household chores, with the highest prevalence among children aged 5–11.

Estimates aligned with UNICEF and the International Labour Organization place the figure at roughly 40.1 per cent, with agriculture, particularly coffee-related activities, remaining one of the leading sectors for child labour exploitation in Uganda.