By KT Reporter
Behind the ongoing joint operations by police and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to remove begging children from city streets lies a darker, more disturbing reality — a network of traffickers exploiting vulnerable, disabled children from neighboring countries for profit.
One of the victims is 15-year-old Frank Mashaka, a Tanzanian boy living with a disability. He was trafficked into Uganda under the false promise of free education at a donor-funded school by a woman whose identity he struggles to describe. Instead, he was forced into street begging.
“We were told we would attend school, but when we reached Masaka, she told me it was all a hoax and that I would be begging on the streets,” Mashaka recalled emotionally. Mashaka said he was fed poorly and forced to surrender all his earnings to his trafficker every evening.
He was later relocated to Mukono, where intensified police and municipal operations were underway. His trafficker abandoned him and fled. Authorities rescued Mashaka and transferred him to Good Samaritan Inclusive School and Home in Mukono Municipality, where he is now receiving care. However, his story is not unique.
Another victim, seven-year-old Rehema, also from Tanzania and living with a disability, is currently at the same centre. Unlike Mashaka, Rehema is too young to recall her exact origin. She remembers only being picked from her home by a woman who claimed she was taking her to her parents.
“She gave me a cup and told me to beg on the road,” Rehema, seated in a wheelchair, said softly. The director of the home, Fred Migadde, confirmed their stories and revealed that several Tanzanian children have been trafficked into Uganda for forced begging.
According to Migadde, traffickers impose daily financial targets on the children and subject them to physical abuse if they fail to meet them. “So far, three Tanzanian children have come to our home. We’ve managed to trace and reunite one with his family, but we’re still working on the others,” Migadde said.
He expressed particular concern for Rehema, who suffers from a rare condition related to osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) — a genetic disorder that causes bones to break easily, even from minor bumps or no apparent cause.
Due to her fragile condition, Rehema is confined to a wheelchair and kept apart from other children to avoid injury. These harrowing cases highlight the ongoing challenges Uganda faces in battling child trafficking, especially involving children with disabilities.
The Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2009 criminalizes both sex and labor trafficking, prescribing sentences of up to 15 years for adult victims and life imprisonment for offenses involving children.
Abandonment of Disabled Children
Besides trafficking victims, Good Samaritan Home also cares for dozens of disabled children abandoned by their parents. According to Migadde, many are simply left at the gate of the centre, often with no identifying information.
Currently, the centre houses over 90 children suffering from conditions such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, albinism, HIV/AIDS, autism, and Down syndrome. Four children have severe cases of spina bifida that prevent them from sitting or standing.
“Most of these children are expensive to maintain,” Migadde said. “We spend about UGX 300,000 daily just on food. We rely on well-wishers, and when any child gets sick, things become harder. We don’t even have an ambulance for emergencies.”
Mukono Municipality Probation Officer, Jackline Mirembe, urged parents to take responsibility for their children instead of abandoning them. “Imagine leaving a child with cerebral palsy at a centre already stretched thin. At the very least, follow proper procedures to hand over the child and keep offering some support,” she said.
The growing crisis underscores the urgent need for stronger enforcement of anti-trafficking laws, better support systems for children with disabilities, and greater public awareness about the hidden plight of trafficked and abandoned children in Uganda-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
