The Criminal Investigations Directorate has subjected, Judith Nakintu, one of the latest victims of a racket illegally transplanting kidneys from domestic workers in the Arab world to a fresh medical examination.
Nakintu, was brought to CID headquarters. She could hardly walk or speak. Her condition left many people who had sought service at CID headquarters nodding in disbelief.
She was taken to the office of a senior detective handling human trafficking investigations where the media was not allowed. Nakintu was later put in a vehicle and transported to one of the police health facilities for comprehensive medical examination.
“The relatives have medical documents showing that her kidney is missing. But since this is a case being followed by many local and international agencies, we decided to conduct our own comprehensive examination that will be a basis for investigations and prosecution,” a detective said.
Police have decided to keep the hospital where Nakintu was taken for extended medical review a secret. Nakintu, according to detectives, is a mother of five children who left Uganda in 2019 going to serve as a domestic worker in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Before embarking on a journey that was meant to change her financial misfortune but instead turned more tragic, Nakintu was a food vendor in Mubende municipality. She caught her flight in December 2019 under Nile Treasure Gate Company whose offices are in Kiwatule, a Kampala suburb.
The victim’s brother, Robert Kadichi, told investigators that his sister often communicated to them but abruptly went silent. Their efforts to reach her became futile for a while but they were later informed by proprietors of Nile Treasure Gate Company that she had been involved in an accident.
“We asked how she was involved in an accident but the answers were not sufficient. The recruiters started dodging us and eventually stopped communicating with us. All of a sudden, we received a call that she had been brought back and taken to Mulago hospital for examination,” Kadichi explained to detectives.
So far the medical examination from Mulago showed that the right kidney was missing. But security, immigration officials and rights groups following up the case suspect that even other internal organs could have been tampered with.
Earlier, Agnes Igoye, the Deputy Coordinator of anti-human trafficking at Ministry of Internal Affairs and CID Spokesperson, Charles Twine, said investigations are intended to trace for whoever is behind such illicit organ transplant.
Last month, Milly Namazzi’s body was brought back into the country with her kidneys missing and private parts cut off. It is reported many women and girls who went for domestic work in the Arab world are in critical conditions while others have died after their organs were removed.
