A total of six coordinators and staff members of the Empowered Consumerism company operating under Dream Visionaries in Africa are being held by the police in Fort Portal on charges of trafficking in persons and conducting fraudulent recruitment.
They are Mugumisiriza Lyndon, aged 22, Aligonza Kenneth, aged 22, Namisi Godfrey, aged 20, Namakoyo Esther, aged 24, Nafuna Rebecca, and Nandudu Enida.
SCP Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson, said that the suspects lured and recruited victims under a fraudulent employment and business scheme.
“The preliminary findings indicate that the victims received calls from Namisi Godfrey and Namakoye Esther inviting them for jobs in Fort Portal. As a result, four victims mobilised and transported themselves from the districts of Mbale and Bulambuli up to Fort Portal. However, when they reached Fort Portal, they found no jobs, and the employers instead asked them to pay Ugx 1.6 million for membership and to recruit more victims through a pyramid scheme,” he stated.
The victims include Muyama Phionah, a 29-year-old student of Buyera village, Bunamaliro parish in Bulambuli district, Napokoli Edwin Isaiah, a 20-year-old student of Buhatemela village in Bulambuli district, Mutuwa Doreen, a 24-year-old nursing student of Shikundu village in Mbale district, and Nandudu Sophie, a 20-year-old student of Buwaya village in Bulambuli district.