Detained without charge? Questions over Ugandan women’s custody

PANAJI
Five Ugandan women were picked up during a police combing operation in North Goa this week, accused publicly of soliciting customers and staying in India without valid documents.
But internal correspondence reviewed by The Goan indicates that no criminal offence was formally booked against them before they were sent to a detention centre.
In a media statement on Tuesday, Goa police said that on February 9, Mandrem police, accompanied by a lady platoon of the India Reserve Battalion, carried out combing operations at Khalchawada in Arambol.
The police named the five women as Sandra Namwaje, Marget Kyakuwade, Zahara Nasanga, Phionah Mubezi and Shanita, all Ugandan nationals.
The statement alleged that they were “arrogant in nature,” attempting to solicit customers, and were found without valid documents. It added that, after obtaining permission from the Superintendent of Police and the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Panaji, they were lodged at the detention centre in Mapusa.
Yet internal communication sent to the FRRO in Panaji reportedly makes no mention of any offence under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act or any other penal provision. Instead, the correspondence cites only visa overstay and requests that the women be accommodated at the detention centre pending deportation.
“They have not booked any offence as per the internal communication... They have been found overstaying and hence, lodged in the detention centre upon request from the police station,” the source said.
The department has also not revealed whether the landlord has been booked for permitting illegal stay or for failing to report the presence of foreign nationals, despite the law.
As of Wednesday evening, the Goa police had not clarified why the alleged solicitation offence was not reflected in communication with the FRRO. The Goan tried contacting the officials, who remained unavailable for comment.
Meanwhile, two others, including another Ugandan national, Bangi Agnes Nambalirwa, were found without valid travel documents -- a passport and visa, and were subsequently arrested. Deportation proceedings against them have also been initiated.