Ugandan police move to ban sex work at adrenaline capital of East Africa to curb insecurity
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Police and sex workers
Police in Eastern Uganda have announced that sex work will soon be banned in Jinja city located some 80 kms from Kampala.
Jinja is a buzzing little city in eastern Uganda that has quickly risen to become the adrenaline capital of East Africa, and the second busiest commercial center in the country after the capital of Kampala.
14 day ultimatum to pack and leave
The police have given all sex traders in Jinja city and its suburbs 14 days to wind up their business and then close shop immediately or else they will be arrested and thrown to jail.
According to area police spokesperson, Willy Mubi, they have resolved to ban sex in the city and its surroundings due to rising insecurity.
Sex traders are becoming targets
Mr. Mubi argued that the move was necessitated by the need to protect sex workers who are becoming victims of muggers by the day.
Police recently found the body of a sex worker identified as Angela Angel dumped in Kakira sugar plantation, some 10 miles away from Jinja city.
”We have realised that sex work in Jinja city is causing insecurity. Some thugs kill sex workers and rob them off their money. Just yesterday we found a sex worker killed and her body dumped in Kakira sugar plantation,” said Mubi.
Sex workers are a nuisance
Police in the area also claim that apart from killings of the sex workers, the big number of sex workers in the streets of Jinja is also a nuisance and encourage lawlessness. The men in uniform claim that sex traders make streets overcrowded giving pickpocketers a field day to snatch phones and bags from innocent public.
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Sex traders resist and go up in arms
Sex traders in Jinja have, however, vowed to resist the forceful eviction by the police.
One of the sex workers leaders, Innah Nabirye, said the whole exercise is in vain since sex workers are here to stay and at the end of the day sex work is work.
“We shall come up with new tactics whereby police will not be able to identify us while doing our job.” said Innah.
One of the tactics sex traders might deploy is working in shifts where those who work on Monday do not come out on the following day so that they reduce on crowding the streets.
It remains to be seen if police in the area will indeed honor their treat to evict sex workers but one can’t help but wonder if the police really want to curb insecurity why can’t they arrest the real criminals? More so, once the sex workers have been evicted can’t the same criminals not target the public?
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