All is not well in Mbarara City after reports coming from the landing milk and honey described that the city is struggling with an increasing number of teenage girls engaging in prostitution.
Young girls, some as young as 12, are reportedly seen late at night on the city’s streets, in areas such as Kijungu, Kisenyi, Rwebikoona, and Ruti, where they solicit men for sex in exchange for money.
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The Uganda Aids Commission’s survey indicated that Mbarara City has an HIV prevalence rate of 8.1 percent. The surrounding Mbarara District has a significantly higher rate of 14.4 percent, while Kiruhura stands at 9.5 percent, Ibanda at 7.3 percent, and Isingiro at 3.0 percent within the greater Mbarara area.
This new development is causing
widespread concern among residents, as it contributes to the rising HIV infection rates in the Ankole Sub-region
Nancy Kembabazi (19, not her real name), a sex worker in Kisenyi, narrated that after completing Senior Two, she was unable to continue her education due to financial constraints.
“I was born to a single mother, and we are two siblings. My mother failed to pay school fees.” She began, adding that, after staying at home for six months, she was encouraged by friends to move to Mbarara to work in a bar. However, she soon realized that sex work offered a more lucrative income than her barmaid salary of Shs150,000 per month.
“Men would offer some good money,” she said. “We were a group of three girls, and we decided to quit our jobs in the bar and do sex business.”
Despite the higher earnings, she acknowledged the significant risks involved. “This job is too risky,” she said. “I just pray every day to God to protect me.”
Angelah Mbabazi (17, not her real name) also told her experience. She said she began engaging in sex work at the age of 12 after being abandoned by her parents.
Even after being taken in by another family, she felt she had no other choice.
“I need to eat, dress well, and survive,” she explained. “I came to survive in prostitution instead of dying of hunger,” she claimed.
“Sometimes, you go to the streets and fail to find a customer,” she said. “If I find money for capital, I can start up a business. I am fed up with this business.”
Local authorities expressed worrying concern about the rising number of young girls involved in prostitution. Mr. John Kaviiji, the youth councillor at Mbarara City Council, described the situation as “alarming,” noting that many of the girls come from refugee camps.
“We have nothing to do because there is no budget or resettlement plan for them,” he emphasized.
Mbarara City Mayor Robert Mugabe Kakyebezi acknowledged the lack of resources to address the issue. “As council, we do not have a budget to work on that,” he concluded.
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