BBC Investigation Exposes An Illegal Prostitution Ring In Dubai, Systematically Exploiting Young Women From Uganda
‘Death in Dubai’: a new BBC Eye documentary and World of Secrets podcast unveils real stories behind viral hashtag #DubaiPortaPotty
Death in Dubai: #DubaiPortaPotty - a new BBC World Service investigation, reveals a former London bus driver is running an illegal prostitution ring in Dubai that systematically exploits young Ugandan women.
Charles Mwesigwa (known locally as Abbey), was filmed by an undercover reporter claiming that women under his network could do “pretty much everything” clients requested.
This BBC World Service investigation reveals a dark reality behind the disturbing online rumours. Through undercover footage, survivor testimonies and open-source intelligence (OSINT) journalism, BBC Eye speaks to women who say they are being forced to work for illegal prostitution rings.
BBC Eye and the World of Secrets podcast interviewed several Ugandan women who say they were lured to the UAE, often under promises of routine, regular jobs, only to find themselves trapped in violent and coercive sex work.
The hashtag #DubaiPortaPotty went viral in 2022 and has amassed over 450 million views on TikTok. ‘Dubai Porta Potty’ is the internet term used to describe alleged money hungry influencers willingly getting defecated on to fund lavish lifestyles. The women are labelled ‘Dubai Porta Potties’ for supposedly becoming human toilets for wealthy men.
Troy, a man who worked for Abbey accused him of “selling humans for money”, alleging he had a team of young men in Uganda who targeted vulnerable women with promises of legal employment and a better life. He says, upon arrival the women were then told they owed Abbey for their flight tickets, visas and living costs: the only way to repay these debts was doing sex work.
He told the BBC: “If the girls said ‘I’m not ready to provide sex’, he would keep them inside the room until they agreed. Their only option was to be with Abbey.”
Troy said the women were forced into sexual acts he had “never seen in his life”, adding: “These rich men look for girls that can fulfil their fantasies. It doesn't matter what those girls go through as long as Abbey’s rich clients are happy. These girls, they have no escape route.” He claimed he quit after Abbey discovered he was helping the women find legal employment.
Two women who worked for Abbey died after falling from buildings in Dubai. Their families told us that authorities concluded they were suicides. In May 2022, a 23-year-old Ugandan woman called Monic Karungi (known online as Mona Kizz) died. Her story went viral worldwide after online speculation wrongly linked her to the #DubaiPortaPotty hashtag, reposting videos of a woman jumping from a building and claiming it was Monic. Just a year earlier, in 2021, another young woman, Kayla Birungi, also fell to her death in the same Dubai neighbourhood, Al Barsha.
BBC reporter and producer Runako Celina spent over two years investigating why women like Monic and Kayla died, and whether their deaths were connected.
Relatives of both women believe the Al Barsha police failed to conduct thorough investigations into their deaths.
A relative of Monic claimed that when he went to the Al Barsha police station to ask what happened to her, he was told that there would be no further investigation as drugs and alcohol were found at the scene of her death.
Kayla’s brother also told the BBC that the day Kayla died she told him she would be coming back to Uganda within two days. He added: “Then I was told she went to a party and she fell from the 10th floor. Three girls present said Kayla had taken alcohol and drugs.”
However, laboratory tests verified by BBC Eye revealed there was no alcohol or drugs in her blood.
The BBC contacted the Al Barsha Police Station requesting to see the case files for Monic Karungi and Kayla Birungi. They were also invited to respond to allegations that both women’s deaths had not been properly investigated – they did not respond to either request.
‘Mia’ recalls her charismatic and kind-hearted friend Monic, and how they felt trapped when living in Abbey’s place with 50 other women, fearing they would never pay off the debt. The women say the only way to pay off their debts was by seeing clients, many of whom they say expect particularly extreme sexual acts from them because of their race.
The BBC asked Charles “Abbey” Mwesigwa to respond to all allegations made in this film. He responded: “These are all false allegations. I’m just a party person who invites big spenders on my tables hence making many girls flock to my tables. That makes me know many girls and that’s it. 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 both girls 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.”
The BBC also spoke to ‘Lexi’ (not her real name) who alleges that she was trafficked to Dubai from Uganda by another illegal prostitution network. She describes being offered thousands to be urinated on, beaten, or to eat faeces. She claims some clients would pay up to AED 15,000 (£3,000) for humiliating “fetish” acts, directly linking the disturbing online rumour to women like Lexi’s’ brutal reality. She tried to ask for help from the police but says they refused to help her.
‘Death in Dubai: #DubaiPortaPotty explores how challenges such as youth unemployment have led Ugandans to seek work abroad, mainly in the Gulf states - an industry that now contributes $1.2 billion in tax revenue to Uganda annually.
Most Ugandans head to Dubai through safe channels, but according to anti-trafficking activist Marriam Mwiza, many are less fortunate. Mwiza runs the non-governmental organisation Overseas Workers Voices Uganda that helps Ugandans being exploited abroad and has rescued over 700 people.
“We get cases of people who have been promised to work, let's say, in a supermarket. Then she ends up sold as a prostitute. I get like 5 to 10 cases daily. Every month I see the number of cases, bodies landing at Entebbe airport. Most are from Dubai. If nothing is done, we are likely to go back into a state of rearing slave trade.”
Runako Celina BBC reporter and producer: “Monic’s story was reduced to a meme online, but she was so much more than that. Behind the viral hashtag and the online abuse was a young woman with dreams for a better life, and a family who loved her. Over the past two years I’ve travelled between Uganda, Dubai and the UK to piece together what happened to her, and along the way I met women who were terrified but brave enough to share their experiences of sexual exploitation. This isn’t just about one rumour: it’s about the way misinformation, inequality and exploitation feed off each other, and about restoring dignity to women like Monic and Kayla, who can no longer speak for themselves.”
The powerful investigation is a co-production between BBC Eye, BBC World of Secrets and British production company Thread Studios. The BBC World of Secrets podcast presented by Runako Celina, uncovers what happened behind the scenes of a two-year investigation into the lives of these young Ugandan women, offering deeper, additional extensive interviews with the people encountered along the way.
Where to listen and watch?
- Documentary ‘Death in Dubai: #Dubaiportapotty’: Available from Monday 15 September
- UK audiences: Watch on BBC iPlayer
- US audiences: Watch on BBC Select
- English, Arabic, French, Swahili and Hausa versions of the documentary will be available on the following BBC YouTube channels:
- International broadcast: The documentary will also be shown on TV channels broadcasting BBC Africa Eye.
- Podcast ‘World of Secrets: Death in Dubai- Season 9’
- The first episode of the six-part series will be available from 15 September wherever you get your BBC podcasts, with a new episode released weekly.
- If you’re in the UK, all six episodes will be available on BBC Sounds from 15 September.
- Listeners outside the UK can listen to episodes weekly on BBC.com from 15 September, or to all six episodes if they subscribe to BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts.
- The series will air weekly on BBC World Service radio from Wednesday 25 September.
Support services:
If you feel distressed by the references in this programme, please speak to a heath professional, or an organisation that offers support such as Befrienders Worldwide. www.befrienders.org
For UK viewers, details of organisations offering information about or support after sexual abuse or with feelings of despair are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.