By Mike Rwothomio
Police in Zombo district have intercepted about 100 youths below the age of 16, being ferried to Pakwach District for a church conference without clear documentation.
The group were intercepted in Paidha town in the afternoon of December 22.
The youths drawn from Padea town council, Jangokoro and Abanga Sub-counties all subscribes to the Seventh Day Adventist Church, with it’s main headquarters in Padea town council.
Festus Ayikobua, the Resident District Commissioner of Zombo likened the incident to alleged child trafficking, adding that the leaders never possessed letter of consent from the parents and security.
The LCIII chairperson of Padea town council Melki Onyutha Orwothuwun, blamed the group for failing to involve local leaders in their arrangement, calling upon them to in future involve leaders in any of their engagements .
Meanwhile the council Speaker of Zombo Hassan Ringtho, blamed the parents for being negligent, adding that the group had no matured people to take care of them Incase of emergency.
As plan is underway to reunite the children with their families, Padea LCIII chairperson called for a better collaboration with church leaders.
Apparently, Zombo security has tightened their surveillance along the border, owing to the ongoing insecurity in the Eastern side of DR Congo.
SP Collins Asea, the West Nile regional Police Spokesperson confirmed the incident in a brief statement saying “Over 100 kids intercepted at paidah police station enroute to pakwach without any documentation from their respective parents and local leaders, more details will follow”
By press time, the youths were still at Paidha police station.
In 2022, Paidha Police in a similar incident intercepted a truck carrying more than 10 youths from Padea town council, traveling to Acholi Sub region, to work on a farm of a prominent businessman.
The government of Uganda has apparently intensified it’s operation in the fight against trafficking in person, which saw the cases reported in 2023, dropped to 1006 compared to 1,200 cases in 2022, signifying a 16.6% decrease in the number of cases reported to police.
