Rwanda: Concerns Grow Over Changing Face of Human Trafficking

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Jean-Paul Ibambe, a lawyer working with the Legal Aid Forum (LAF), a non-governmental organisation that assists survivors of human trafficking to get justice told The New Times that human trafficking crimes are both hard to investigate and prosecute since their perpetrators are often very crafty.

“On investigators and prosecutors need to invest much in human resource and capacity building. They need to be foresighted as they try to prevent or respond to these crimes,” he said.

Awah Mbuli, a Cameroonian survivor of human trafficking (trafficked to Kuwait), told The New Times that if any person finds themselves in a situation where they are being trafficked, they should try as hard as possible to use technology to capture evidence and share it.

“For example, for my case, I used to take videos of the things that happened to me when I was trafficked. That is the main evidence you have,” she said.

She also called for measures to provide free legal assistance to survivors of human trafficking.

Bukeni Waruzi, the Executive Director of Free the Slaves, an international non-governmental organization and lobby group established to campaign against the modern practice of slavery around the world, called for coordinated efforts to fight the practice across the world.

“No one single government, no single entity can do it by itself. It requires global concern,” he said.

Pointing to the seriousness of the human trafficking, he noted that it is the third largest illegal business in the world, making up to more than $150 billion a year.