Parliament has called on the government to account for the welfare of three Ugandan men reportedly detained in Thailand after traveling there in search of employment, amid growing concerns over human trafficking and irregular labour migration.
The matter was raised during plenary on Tuesday by Soroti City Woman Member of Parliament Joan Alobo, who asked the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to explain the steps taken to support the men and secure their return to Uganda.
Alobo told Parliament that the three men identified as Kisazi Amon, Basaija David and Kusima Samuel travelled to Thailand on October 18, 2025, after reportedly being recruited for jobs through a research recruitment company.
According to the legislator, the men remained in contact with their families after arriving in Thailand before communication abruptly ceased.
She said that on January 5, 2026, the families petitioned the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) after failing to establish the men’s whereabouts. Since then, they have reportedly received no official information.
Alobo told the House that the families later established that the three men were being held at Chanthaburi Provincial Prison in Thailand under registration number 089-2026.
“I want to ask the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to explain the measures the government has taken regarding this issue and the welfare of those men since their report was made,” she said.
Responding during the debate, State Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Esther Davinia Anyakun, who previously served in the Gender Ministry in charge labour and employment volunteered information on the matter, saying Uganda has been grappling with cases of citizens being trafficked to Thailand.
“I just wanted to take responsibility since I’ve been in this docket before,” Anyakun said. “There has been a very serious issue in Thailand where Ugandans are being trafficked.”
She explained that Thailand is not among the countries with which Uganda has bilateral labour externalisation agreements, making Ugandans who seek employment there particularly vulnerable to exploitation.
“Thailand is not one of our countries where we have bilateral agreements in terms of externalisation of labour. So Ugandans go through Kenya and then they end up being trafficked in those other countries,” she said.
Anyakun added that while at the ministry, the government had been working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Thai authorities to trace and assist affected Ugandans.
“According to the records, we have been working together with the International Organization for Migration. All the boys and the girls have been there. Apart from a few, we cannot locate them completely, but they are still tracing them through the Ministry of Interior of Thailand. They are going to repatriate them through IOM,” she said.
Government Chief Whip Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng clarified that Anyakun had provided the information because of her previous role at the Gender Ministry, before directing that the current Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development formally address Parliament.
“The Minister for Gender will be notified to come and make a statement in that regard,” Aceng said, adding that the Clerk to Parliament should follow the established procedure for matters of national importance.
The parliamentary discussion comes against the backdrop of increasing reports of Ugandans being trafficked through informal labour recruitment networks to Asian countries. Labour officials have repeatedly warned that job seekers who bypass licensed recruitment agencies or travel to countries where Uganda has no labour agreements face heightened risks of exploitation, detention and abuse.
Uganda has signed bilateral labour agreements with several countries, particularly in the Middle East, to regulate labour migration and protect migrant workers. However, Thailand is not among the approved destinations for Uganda’s labour externalisation programme, making recruitment to the country largely unregulated.
The government, working with international partners such as the International Organization for Migration, has in recent years intensified efforts to rescue and repatriate Ugandans stranded abroad after falling victim to human trafficking syndicates-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
