By Mulengera Reporters
Following the Afande Edith Nakalema-orchestrated assault on two major players in the labor externalization sector (namely Middle East Consultants and Mayanga Mango’s Khaleej Agencies based in Namasuba), Police has firmly acted against another offending labor externalization firm called Eagles Supervision Ltd based in Mengo Balintuma Road.
With mega announcements airing on Bukedde and BBS TV channels, Eagles Supervision easily ranked among the major players in the labor externalization business. The deceptive and misleading advertisement especially on the highly popular Bukedde platform and Pearl FM (especially Suleiman Kalule’s program) has for the past one-year driven thousands of desperate jobless young Ugandans to flock Eagle Supervision’s offices. The broadcast messages made many of them so gullible to the extent of paying as high as Shs8m on top of surrendering their passports in return for connections to lucrative job opportunities in Dubai.
To effectively dupe them, the company CEO a one Bod Rodney Nankunda often brought in strange Arabs and Bazungus who gave the young men assurances, during the training, that the life-changing jobs were real. All they had to do is sell whatever they can at home, raise Shs8m and get issued visas and travel to Dubai the next day. The youths, some of whom have moved for a whole year now seeking refund, became impatient when they contacted Mohash and JK Security (the two Dubai-based companies) and they were assured they had no such arrangements to expect any labor recruits from Uganda through Eagles Supervision.
That is how it dawned on them what they had always been told how its only visas delaying them was all nothing but lies meant to create false hope in them.
They tried media exposure but all major media houses turned their back on them uncomfortable airing stuff that can discomfort their major advertiser-Eagle Supervision. They then tried the Ministry of Labor whose officials too didn’t help much even when its them who licensed Eagle Supervision to operate. They then reported the matter to the Nakulabye Police some of whose officials hesitated acting claiming the company had powerful backers that can cause them lose their jobs in the Uganda Police Force.
In June, some Nakulabye police operatives risked storming the Eagle Supervision compound where they found Nankunda and his wife who serves as the accountant for the company. The police left very humiliated as the top officials directed security guards at the gate to beat up police and lock them up.
And indeed the police men who had dared raid the enclosure were locked up in the company toilet for the whole day and accused of criminal trespass. Some of the young men, the complaints, who came with them too were treated the same way and assured they would never get the refund they were seeking.
It was then that the complainants, who are in 100s, referred the matter to Old Kampala Police Division whose men raided the place last week and forcefully carried away Nankunda and seven of his company employees. The security guards, who assaulted the Nakulabye police men, too were arrested and carried along. The group was last Friday arraigned before Mwanga II Magistrates Court where the Magistrate remanded them to Luzira. They will be returned to court this Friday 30th August at 9am.Some of the papers lawyer Muwadda has attached on the notice of intention to sue that has been addressed to Eagles Supervision Ltd and copied to the Labor Ministry which he says is equally culpable for failing to adequately regulate labor externalization firms
THE MUWADDA CIVIL CASE
Saying they don’t have much hope in graft-riddled police doing proper investigations leading to conviction, over 200 of the complaints or victims are now seeking civil court remedy. They have contracted public-spirited lawyer Nkunyingi Muwadda who says even the Labor Ministry is culpable for failing to adequately regulate these firms.
Indeed, in his notice of intention to sue addressed to Eagles Supervision Ltd, Muwadda has copied in the Labor Ministry whose registry has dully received the notice.
The complainants are commencing civil proceedings against the company and its directors and their prayer is that court compels the company bosses to return their passports to them besides refunding the money each one of them owes. Muwadda says there is no way the company can escape liability because they even tried to refund the boys but the cheques, mostly for Bank of Africa, all bounced leaving the victims no option but to seek civil remedy in court.
Whereas majority had been promised security guard jobs in Dubai, a few others especially ladies were to work as waitresses. Muwadda says in total, his clients’ claim won’t be less than Shs800m which they want court to compel the company and its directors to repay as quickly as possible so that the young men (some of whom are now on suicide watch due to desperation) can see how to rebuild their lives. (For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755 or email us at mulengera2040@gmail.com).