Overview:
In that case, the suspects face additional charges of terrorism and aggravated robbery. The child trafficking trial will now move to the defence stage, while the separate murder and terrorism case remains pending before the same court.
The International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court in Kampala has ruled that two men accused of aggravated child trafficking have a case to answer and must defend themselves against all five charges. In a ruling delivered on Monday, the head of the ICD, Justice Andrew Bashaija, said the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to proceed with the trial against Sheikh Abdurashid Mbazira, also known as Abdu Sewajja or Buyondo Muhammad Jamir Walukagga, and Higenyi Aramathan Noordin, also known as Taata Abdul Razak.
The two are charged under the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act with five counts of aggravated child trafficking allegedly committed between 2016 and March 2017 across Busia, Mayuge, Mukono, Kampala, Kasese, and Bushenyi districts. Justice Bashaija clarified that the court’s decision does not imply guilt but confirms that the prosecution has presented evidence which, if left unanswered, could lead to a conviction.
In Counts One and Two, the accused are jointly charged with trafficking two children — an eight-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl — from Busia District. Their mother testified that Noordin took the children under the pretext of visiting their aunt but transported them without her knowledge. Police later traced them to Mbazira’s home in Mukono District.
In Count Three, Mbazira is accused of trafficking an eleven-year-old boy from Mayuge District through Busia and Kampala to Kasese using promises of education and religious instruction. An arresting officer testified that Mbazira was found with two national identity cards bearing his photograph but different names and allegedly attempted to destroy one at the time of arrest.
Counts Four and Five relate to the alleged trafficking of two children aged eight and three from Bushenyi District to Namasegere Village in Kyampisi Sub-county, Mukono District. Their mother testified that she only discovered their whereabouts after seeing their photographs on television. She later identified them at Naggalama Police Station through documentation and DNA testing.
The prosecution also told the court that several other children had been brought to Mbazira’s residence, reportedly for Islamic religious education, despite the facility not being licensed or officially recognised. Justice Bashaija noted that under Ugandan law, child trafficking cases do not require proof of force or deception and that parental consent is not a valid defence where exploitation is established. He said the prosecution had presented evidence suggesting recruitment, transportation, and harbouring of minors for exploitative purposes.
The court concluded that a case had been established on all five counts and ordered the trial to proceed to the defence stage before another judge or a panel of three judges at the ICD. Mbazira and Noordin are also among seven suspects facing trial in a separate case linked to the 2017 assassination of Andrew Felix Kaweesi, alongside his bodyguard Kenneth Erau and driver Godfrey Mambewa.
In that case, the suspects face additional charges of terrorism and aggravated robbery. The child trafficking trial will now move to the defence stage, while the separate murder and terrorism case remains pending before the same court.
****URN****