US imposes sanctions on Ugandan jurists

KAMPALA, Uganda

The US government announced sanctions on four Ugandan individuals, including two judges, accusing them of taking part in an illegal child adoption racket.

Allegedly involved in a scheme to remove young children from vulnerable families under the pretext of sending them for education in the capital Kampala, judges Wilson Musalu Musene and Moses Mukiibi, as well as lawyer Dorah Mirembe and her associate Patrick Ecobu were slapped Monday with US asset freezes and visa bans.

The US Treasury said Mirembe's law firm, aided by officials, took the children to Kampala from their families in remote villages, where American prospective parents then traveled to adopt the children from an unlicensed shelter home.

"Deceiving innocent Ugandan families into giving up their children for adoption has caused great suffering," Deputy Treasury Secretary Justin Muzinich said in a statement. "The individuals involved in this corrupt scam deliberately exploited the good faith of Ugandans and Americans to enrich themselves."

As a result, all property in the US belonging to the accused, or in the possession or control of US residents, were blocked and must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

In a separate action, the Department of Justice Monday said it had charged Mirembe and a US national, Debra Parris of Lake Dallas, Texas, in an indictment filed last week with money laundering and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the alleged Ugandan scheme.

KAMPALA, Uganda

The US government announced sanctions on four Ugandan individuals, including two judges, accusing them of taking part in an illegal child adoption racket.

As a result, all property in the US belonging to the accused, or in the possession or control of US residents, were blocked and must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).