By Ollus Ndomu
The man identified as the ringleader of a sex-trafficking network that preyed on young Ugandan women in Dubai has been detained by authorities in the United Arab Emirates, according to confirmation received by the BBC.
Charles “Abbey” Mwesigwa, a former London bus driver, was filmed in a BBC investigation offering undercover reporters women for sex parties at $1,000 per client. He described the women as available for “pretty much everything.” The probe linked him to a ring that lured women to Dubai with promises of jobs, then coerced them into prostitution.
Mwesigwa is being held at Dubai’s Central Prison Centre in Al Awir. A local law firm told the BBC his detention followed an Interpol Uganda red notice, though UAE authorities have not yet made a public announcement. The Ugandan embassy in Abu Dhabi has said “investigations of human trafficking are ongoing and action has been taken by the authorities of the UAE.”
Survivors told the BBC they were promised supermarket or hotel work, only to find themselves indebted and forced into sex work in Dubai’s luxury neighborhoods. Some accounts included violent and degrading treatment by clients. One woman, “Mia,” said she was trapped by Mwesigwa’s network and described disturbing acts demanded by customers.
Two women linked to Mwesigwa, Monic Karungi and Kayla Birungi, died after falling from high-rise apartments in Dubai. Their deaths were officially ruled suicides, but relatives told the BBC they believe police failed to properly investigate.
Mwesigwa has denied the allegations. He told the BBC he simply connected women with landlords and was popular in Dubai’s party scene, which attracted women to his table. He insisted he was not running a trafficking network.
The revelations triggered heated debate in Uganda’s parliament last week. Lawmakers described the case as “disturbing” and called for closer cooperation with Interpol to ensure justice. Ministers pledged to intensify efforts against human trafficking networks that exploit economic desperation at home.
The case underscores the intersection of migration, poverty, and exploitation. Uganda, like many African countries, faces a growing crisis of young women drawn into trafficking under the promise of jobs abroad. The BBC investigation has placed international pressure on both Ugandan and Emirati authorities to move beyond rhetoric and deliver justice for victims.
Reported with source material from BBC
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