“It had just stopped raining. One carried a baton and another had a gun. As they approached, I happily thought my first pay for the night had come,” Sarah Nakato, a sex worker in her 30s narrates her ordeal when two policemen approached her as she stood in a street corner after midnight.
It was a chilly evening in Kibuye, a Kampala suburb. The streets were deserted, with only a few residents rushing home. She counted her fortunes as the two men drew closer –she had customers. The excitement was short-lived when the duo, however, told her she had broken the law and was under arrest. “I was handcuffed and ordered to walk a distance of about half a kilometer to Kibuye Police Station.”
She obliged to the order but as they approached a dark spot on their way to the station, Nakato says she was ordered to stop. “One of them gave me two options, either to give him sex in exchange for my freedom or sleep behind bars and face the law in court on Monday.”
Given previous experiences of her workmates, who had been charged and sentenced to prison for three months: “I opted to give in to the sex as I had not made any money that night. His friend kept watch, pointing the gun at me, threatening to shoot if I made any noise,” Nakato narrated.
Shared sorrows
Nakato’s story is not unique, as many of her friends joined in to narrate their ordeal at the hands of security personnel, both private and government employed.
“This was not the first time and I am not alone. This has happened to me several times,” Nakato said
Nakato’s story is not unique, as many of her friends joined in to narrate their ordeal at the hands of security personnel, both private and government employed.
“This was not the first time and I am not alone. This has happened to me several times,” Nakato said
The sex workers allege that on several occasions they have been beaten, forced to have sex without protection by security personnel and if anyone resists, she is arrested and locked up for being idle and disorderly. “In most cases court demands about Shs100, 000 as cash bail. This is on a higher side to us. So we end up in jail just because we are desperate on the streets looking for survival.”
Hajara Sanyu Batte, a sex worker and leader of a sex workers’ umbrella organisation says her office has received numerous complaints not only against the police but also soldiers and Very Important Persons who force them to have sex at gun point.
“Sometimes the police arrest us when they are already high on drugs and demand live sex. People who claim that we are responsible for spread of HIV/Aids are wrong. It is these security personnel who are responsible for the spread of HIV/Aids,” she asserted.
“Sometimes the police arrest us when they are already high on drugs and demand live sex. People who claim that we are responsible for spread of HIV/Aids are wrong. It is these security personnel who are responsible for the spread of HIV/Aids,” she asserted.
Despite President Museveni’s directive several months ago that the police stop the use of the section of the Penal Code that spells out Idle and disorderly to charge sex workers, the police have continued with the arrest, charging them under the Penal Code clause of “rogue and vagabond” which provides for six months imprisonment for first offender or one year for second time offenders. “When I leave home for work, the first things I think of before even transport fare are condoms in my bag. I will spare my little money to buy condoms and gamble later on how to get to my work place”, Hajara said.
Repeated act
She has been in this business for ten years now and her story is not for the faint hearted. She narrates that she has been raped and abused several times. Three out of her four children were conceived out of rape.She is, however, not willing to share details of how she is coping with the situation.
She has been in this business for ten years now and her story is not for the faint hearted. She narrates that she has been raped and abused several times. Three out of her four children were conceived out of rape.She is, however, not willing to share details of how she is coping with the situation.
A recent study by Action Aid International and its partners Home Based Care Initiative in Kampala, last year revealed that the HIV/Aids prevalence among the sex workers in the city alone was as high as 47.2 per cent, compared to the national prevalence at 6.7 per cent. This figure claims to 60 per cent among sex workers between the ages 25 to 29.
Due to the nature of a trade considered illegal in Uganda, the study found that majority of sex workers silently suffer from STDs. The rape allegations against security personnel come a few months after Uganda Human Rights Commission ruled against a police constable Yahaya Nyombi attached to Kabalagala Police Station in October 2010 for beating up a sex worker and advocate Daisy Nakato and put her under gun point.
The Commission ruled that Nyombi’s act was illegal and recommended that the Inspector General of Police takes disciplinary action against him. Ms Nakato says they are now collecting evidence against Nyombi who allegedly has raped sex workers in the suburbs of Kabalagala.
When contacted on phone, Police deputy spokesperson Vincent Sekate could not deny nor confirm the accusation but encourage the victims to report to the police so that the cases can be investigated. “They can go and report to Police Standards Unit if they fear the ordinary reporting mechanism. If they are found guilty, they will be dealt with according to law,” he said.
swandera@ug.nationmedia.com
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