Myanmar authorities have released a Ugandan national, Felix Adupe, who was allegedly trafficked into the Southeast Asian country and detained in a facility linked to the growing network of forced online scam operations.
The release, announced by Foreign Affairs Minister Ambassador Adonia Ayebare, took place at 5:15 p.m. local time on Thursday, November 5, 2026. Adupe was subsequently handed over to Edan, a non-governmental organisation providing medical assistance and temporary safe custody.
The development marks progress in Uganda’s diplomatic efforts to secure the freedom of citizens reportedly lured abroad by fraudulent employment opportunities before being forced to participate in organised online financial scams.
In a statement announcing the release on Friday, Ayebare said Adupe and 20 other detained Ugandans were expected to be formally handed over to Uganda’s Ambassador to Malaysia, Betty Bigombe, who is also accredited to Myanmar, in Yangon the following week.
“Together and other 20 detained Ugandans will be handed over to Ambassador Betty Bigombe next week in Yangon and transport arrangements to bring them back home will be arranged,” Ayebare said.
He added: “We continue to negotiate for more Ugandans still missing in Myanmar.”
The statement indicates that although Adupe has been released from detention and placed under the care of a humanitarian organisation, the formal diplomatic handover and repatriation of the remaining 20 nationals are still being arranged.
Government spokesperson Allan Kasujja separately confirmed that authorities were coordinating the return of the 21 Ugandans, describing them as victims of human trafficking who had been deceived by promises of lucrative employment abroad.
A photograph accompanying the announcement shows Adupe lying on a stretcher outside a detention facility in the presence of three uniformed Myanmar officers. A corresponding detention transfer record dated November 5 identifies him as a foreign detainee being transferred to the Immigration Department for release.
His medical condition and the circumstances surrounding his detention have not been publicly disclosed.
Adupe’s case illustrates the vulnerability of young Ugandans seeking opportunities to improve their economic circumstances through international employment and further education.
Identified in the detention records as Legkwo Felix Adupe, he is reported to be a graduate of Biosystems Engineering from Gulu University, where he attained a Second-Class Upper degree with a cumulative grade point average of 4.35. His academic specialisation reportedly included renewable energy and food security.
An orphan from Pader District in northern Uganda, Adupe is said to have overcome considerable financial hardship to complete his education, undertaking activities such as working on school farms and moulding bricks to raise money for his studies.
He subsequently benefited from educational support associated with Forum for African Women Educationalists Uganda (FAWE Uganda) and the Mastercard Foundation.
Friends and former schoolmates have described him as an academically accomplished young man who pursued opportunities to finance postgraduate studies before reportedly falling victim to fraudulent overseas recruitment.
His experience raises concerns about how criminal trafficking networks increasingly exploit the aspirations, professional qualifications and financial vulnerabilities of educated young Africans.
The recruitment of Ugandans into forced cybercrime operations is part of a wider transnational trafficking crisis affecting Southeast Asia.
Criminal networks reportedly use social media platforms, online recruitment advertisements and personal connections to attract unsuspecting jobseekers with promises of well-paid employment in information technology, customer service, digital marketing, data entry and hospitality.
Some recruits are initially promised jobs in Thailand or other regional destinations but are subsequently transported across borders into Myanmar, where they are confined in guarded compounds controlled by organised criminal groups.
Once inside, victims may be forced to operate fraudulent investment schemes, cryptocurrency scams and online romance fraud operations targeting unsuspecting individuals across the world.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has estimated that at least 120,000 people in Myanmar may be forced to participate in online scam operations, illustrating the scale of the problem beyond individual nationalities.
The crisis is particularly complex because victims are sometimes treated as immigration offenders or suspected cybercriminals in destination countries, despite having been recruited and confined through deception and coercion.
This makes victim identification, protection and coordinated cross-border investigations essential to ensuring that trafficked individuals are not punished for crimes they were compelled to commit.
Adupe’s release follows several previous operations through which Uganda has secured the return of nationals trapped in Myanmar’s scam compounds.
In May 2024, 23 Ugandans returned home following diplomatic negotiations involving Uganda, Myanmar and regional partners, with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
A further 26 Ugandans, comprising 13 men and 13 women, were repatriated in May 2025 through the Uganda High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, following coordinated engagement with Myanmar and Thai authorities.
The High Commission, led by Ambassador Bigombe, has played a central role in facilitating the identification, rescue and return of Ugandans caught up in the trafficking networks.
The continued recruitment of Ugandans into fraudulent overseas employment schemes points to weaknesses in public awareness, recruitment oversight, migrant-worker protection and international law-enforcement cooperation.
Uganda’s Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2009 (as amended), provides the principal legal framework for combating human trafficking.
Section 2 criminalises the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons through force, coercion, fraud, deception or abuse of vulnerability for purposes of exploitation. The offence attracts a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, while aggravated trafficking under Section 3 carries a penalty of life imprisonment.
The legislation also recognises forced labour, slavery, debt bondage and the use of individuals in illegal activities as forms of exploitation. Importantly, Section 11 provides for the protection, assistance and support of trafficking victims, including access to medical care, counselling, psychological assistance and appropriate accommodation.
Section 13 places responsibility on the Government to facilitate the repatriation of Ugandan victims trafficked abroad. It also provides for engagement with host governments where immediate repatriation could expose victims to further danger.
Uganda’s latest National Report on Countering Trafficking in Persons, launched by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in July 2026, recorded 1,002 reported trafficking cases in 2025, down from 1,068 in 2024.
The United States Department of State’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report retained Uganda on Tier 2, acknowledging government efforts while identifying continuing shortcomings in victim identification, protection and the broader response to trafficking. justice for survivors.