Dubai Sex‑Ring Uncovered: Ugandan Women Deceived, Exploited in “Porta‑Potty” Trade

A probe has identified a man running a sex-trafficking network from Dubai’s posh districts, preying on vulnerable women. The man, Charles Mwesigwa, who claims he used to drive buses in London told an undercover reporter that he could arrange for women to attend sex parties starting at $1,000 (£740), and asserted that many are willing to do “pretty much everything” clients desire.

Over time, stories have circulated about decadent sex parties in the UAE. A TikTok hashtag, #Dubaiportapotty viewed more than 450 million times, is linked to both parodies and accusations that certain women, often influencers, are secretly sustaining lavish lifestyles by fulfilling extreme sexual demands.

Young Ugandan women said they never expected to be drawn into sex work by Mr. Mwesigwa. On some occasions, they believed their visas to the UAE were for jobs in supermarkets or hotels. One woman, “Mia” (name changed to protect identity), claims she was ensnared in Mr. Mwesigwa’s network. She says that one client habitually demands to defecate on the women.

Mr. Mwesigwa rejects the claims. He states that he assists women in finding housing via landlords, and that they attend parties through his connections in Dubai, because of his wealthy Dubai contacts.

Tragically, two women linked to Mr. Mwesigwa died after falling from high-rise buildings. Their deaths were ruled suicides, but family and friends believe the authorities should have investigated more thoroughly. When asked, Mr. Mwesigwa said Dubai police investigated and asked the BBC to reach out to them; no response was given.

One of the deceased, Monic Karungi, came from Western Uganda. According to another woman (called “Keira”) who lived with Monic in Dubai in 2022, Monic shared a flat with dozens of other women working for Mr. Mwesigwa.
His place was like a market. There were like 50 girls. She was not happy because what she expected is not what she got,” Keira said. Monic’s sister, Rita, reports that Monic left Uganda thinking she would take a supermarket job in Dubai.

“Mia,” who also knew Monic, says Mr. Mwesigwa became violent when she asked to return home. She says that upon arrival, she was told she already owed him £2,000 ($2,711), and that within two weeks the debt had doubled. “Money for air tickets, for the visa, for where Monic was sleeping, food,” Mia says. “That means you have to work hard, hard, hard, pleading for men to come and sleep with you.” Mwesigwa told her. After some weeks, Monic reportedly owed him over $27,000 (£19,918), according to a relative called “Michael,” and Mia says she received voice notes from Monic expressing distress.

Mia says many clients were white Europeans, including men with very extreme fetishes. “There’s this one client, he poops on girls. He poops and he tells them to eat the shit,” she explains. Another woman, “Lexi,” who claims she was duped by a different network, confirms that “porta potty” requests came up frequently. Lexi described one client who said: “‘We pay you 15,000 Arab Emirates Dirham ($4,084, £3,013) to gang‑rape you, pee in your face, beat you, and add in 5,000 ($1,361, £1,004)’” for being filmed eating feaces. She also perceives a racial angle to this fetish: “Every time I said that I wouldn’t want to do that, it seemed to get them more interested. They want somebody who is going to cry and scream and run. And that somebody in their eyes should be a black person.”

Lexi says her attempt to get help from police failed; she reports being told: “You Africans cause problems for each other. We don’t want to get involved. And they would hang up.” When this was put to Dubai police, they did not reply. Lexi eventually escaped to Uganda, and now works helping other women in similar situations.

Tracking down Mr. Mwesigwa was difficult. Only one photo of him surfaced online (taken from behind), and he uses several aliases on social media. Through open‑source intelligence, undercover work, and input from someone formerly in his circle, the BBC traced him to Jumeirah Village Circle, a middle‑class area in Dubai.

To verify what sources alleged about his business, especially supplying women for degrading sex acts, the BBC sent an undercover journalist posing as a party planner needing women for high‑end events. Mr. Mwesigwa spoke confidently. “We’ve got like 25 girls,” he said. “Many are open‑minded… they can do pretty much everything.” He quoted prices starting at $1,000 (£738) per woman per night, higher for what he called “crazy stuff,” and even offered the reporter a “sample night.” Pressed about “Dubai porta potty,” he said: “I’ve told you, they are open‑minded. When I say open‑minded… I will send you the craziest I have.”

During their conversation, he claimed he once worked as a London bus driver, something the BBC saw evidence of in a 2006 document in East London. He also told the reporter: “I could win the lottery, a million pounds, but I would still do it… it’s become part of me.”

A man calling himself “Troy,” who says he used to oversee operations in Mr. Mwesigwa’s network, offered further details. Troy alleges Mr. Mwesigwa pays nightclub security so his women can enter and pick up clients. “I’ve heard about types of sex that I’ve never seen in my life. It doesn’t matter what you go through as long as his rich men are happy… [the women] have no escape route…They see musicians, they see footballers, they see presidents.” Troy also claims Mr. Mwesigwa uses the names of others (drivers, etc.) to rent cars and apartments, keeping his own name off most official documents.

On 27 April 2022, Monic shared a selfie from Al Barsha, an expat‑friendly district in Dubai. Four days later she was dead. She had been in the UAE only four months. Mia says Monic had been clashing with Mr. Mwesigwa resisting his demands, and that she believed she had found work that didn’t involve sleeping with men. Monic moved to a different apartment about ten minutes away, and on 1 May 2022 fell from its balcony.

Her relative Michael, who was in Dubai at the time, says he sought answers. He says the police told him they ended the investigation after finding drugs and alcohol in the apartment from which Monic fell, and only Monic’s fingerprints on the balcony. “He obtained a death certificate for Monic from a hospital, but it did not say how she had died. And her family were unable to obtain a toxicology report for her.” Michael says he met a Ghanaian neighbor who led him to one of Mr. Mwesigwa’s bosses, and that when he confronted this person, Mr. Mwesigwa allegedly responded: “I have spent 25 years in Dubai. Dubai is mine… There is no way you are going to report me… Embassy is me, I’m the embassy. “[Monic’s] not the first to die. And she won’t be the last,” he added, according to Michael. Mia and Keira both say they were present and confirm that wording. When approached, Mr. Mwesigwa denies having said it.

The case bears similarities to another woman, Kayla Birungi, from the same area, who died in 2021 after falling from what our evidence suggests was an apartment managed by Mr. Mwesigwa. Kayla’s phone number listed for the landlord was one of Mr. Mwesigwa’s contact numbers, confirmed by several women and “Troy.” Though Kayla’s family heard reports linking her death to alcohol or drugs, a toxicology report seen by the BBC found none in her system. Kayla’s body was sent home for burial; Monic’s was never returned. The investigation suggests she was buried in the “Unknown” section of Dubai’s Al Qusais Cemetery—a place often used for unclaimed migrant remains.

Both Monic and Kayla form part of a broader, informal route from Uganda to the Gulf. With rising youth unemployment, many Ugandans seek overseas work especially in Gulf states and this generates about US$1.2 billion (£885 million) annually in tax revenues. But the journey can be risky. Mariam Mwiza, a Ugandan activist, says she has helped rescue more than 700 people in Gulf countries. “We get cases of people who have been promised to work, let’s say, in a supermarket. Then that person ends up sold as a prostitute,” she said.

For Monic’s family, their grief is wrapped in fear, fear that others might suffer similarly if nothing changes. “We are all looking at Monica’s death,” her relative Michael said. “But who is there for the girls still alive? They’re still there. Still suffering.”

In response to the allegations, Charles “Abbey” Mwesigwa denied he operates an illegal prostitution ring. He stated: “These are all false allegations. I told you I am just a party person who invites big spenders on my tables, hence making many girls flock [to] my table. That makes me know many girls and that’s it.” He added: “Monic died with her passport meaning no one was demanding her money for taking her. Prior to her death, I hadn’t seen her for over four to five weeks. I knew Monic and Kayla and they were renting with different landlords. If no one in both flats was arrested or any of the landlords, then there was a reason. Both incidents were investigated by the Dubai police and maybe they can help you.”

Source: BBC

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