KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has issued a warning about a growing social problem involving young women being left with children by foreign road construction workers who depart the country after their contracts end.
The issue is reportedly increasing in areas with significant infrastructure projects. Ministry officials say some young Ugandan women are becoming romantically involved with foreign contractors without knowing their backgrounds or true identities.
Ministry spokesperson Simon Peter Mundeyi told reporters that 16 young women have recently sought the ministry’s help after being abandoned by these workers.
“Once these foreign workers complete their assignments, they return to their home countries, leaving young mothers behind, often without any means of support. It is a dangerous and heartbreaking pattern,” Mundeyi said.
He emphasized that the young women are often lured by money and gifts and fail to check the intentions or basic personal information of the men.
“When the girls see foreign workers in their areas, they get excited and fall in love without considering the consequences or even asking for their names or nationality,” he stated.
Mundeyi identified Old Port Bell Road as an area where such cases are becoming more common, with frequent interactions between local women and foreign laborers reported.
He also revealed concerning information received by the ministry about the workers’ identities. “Unfortunately, we cannot track or verify where most of these contractors come from. We’ve even received reports that some of them may be convicts serving sentences under foreign agreements before returning home,” Mundeyi disclosed.
With limited legal options to pursue the absent fathers, the ministry said it can only assist Ugandan mothers with processing travel documents for their children in specific situations.
Officials are now urging young women to exercise caution and critical thinking when approached by foreign nationals, particularly those with a temporary and often unregistered presence in the country.
