Uganda arrests 169 foreign nationals in Bukoto raid as authorities probe cybercrime and trafficking links

Ugandan security and immigration authorities arrested 169 foreign nationals in a coordinated overnight operation at a tightly controlled residential complex in Bukoto, Kampala, as the government widened its investigation into suspected illegal migration, cyber-scamming and possible human trafficking activities.

The operation was carried out overnight on Monday, April 27, and formed part of a broader enforcement sweep led by Uganda’s immigration and security agencies. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Bukoto action alone led to the arrest of 169 foreign nationals, including 36 women, while parallel operations elsewhere brought the wider total to 231 detainees.

Authorities said the Bukoto group was found inside what they described as a highly restricted, self-contained apartment complex equipped with its own internal facilities and designed in a way that appeared to limit residents’ movement. The Ministry said many of those detained lacked proper immigration documents, including passports, and that the site raised deeper suspicions because of how it was structured and controlled.

The Ugandan government has so far framed the case primarily around suspected cyber-scamming, illegal stay and possible trafficking, rather than issuing a fully detailed public charge sheet tied specifically to gambling. In the ministry statement cited by AP, officials said some of those detained claimed they had been brought into Uganda with false promises of employment, while others were allegedly engaged in cyber-scamming and other illicit activity.

That makes the Bukoto arrests especially significant because the case appears to straddle several enforcement areas at once. Ministry spokesperson Simon Peter Mundeyi told AP that the detainees were being sorted into three groups: suspected trafficking victims, suspected perpetrators, and people who had overstayed visas without necessarily taking part in organised crime. He said suspected ringleaders could face prosecution and eventual deportation, while trafficking victims and overstayers would be assisted to leave after meeting travel requirements.

For Uganda, the raid signals a harder line against cross-border criminal activity using residential compounds and digital operations as cover. Even without a full public breakdown of every alleged offense yet, the Bukoto case is already one of the most visible recent examples of the state linking immigration enforcement with cybercrime and anti-trafficking action. If prosecutors confirm broader organised-crime elements, the operation could become a reference point for how Kampala responds to foreign-run digital fraud networks in the future.