Death in Dubai: BBC documentary casts light on UAE's sordid world of sex exploitation

A BBC World Service documentary has uncovered a sex trafficking ring in the UAE involved in the exploitation of expatriate women.

Titled Death in Dubai: #DubaiPortaPotty, the investigation centres on a former London bus driver now based in the UAE, Charles Mwesigwa, who offers to provide an undercover reporter with women for use in sex parties.

Initially a viral online rumour, the #DubaiPortaPotty has become an open secret associated with the UAE and involves the payment of often large sums of money to women, including Instagram influencers, to partake in degrading sex acts and serve as human toilets.

Mwesigwa is filmed offering the service to the undercover reporter, telling the journalist that he has around 25 women on his books, who are willing to do "pretty much anything" for a price.

The film explores how many of the women associated with Mwesigwa have been lured to the country on the false pretence of finding work in hotels and supermarkets.

A former associate of the Londoner says that Mwesigwa coerces the women with imprisonment until they agree to work for him.

Two women working for Mwesigwa have died in disputed circumstances, both falling from buildings in the al-Barsha neighbourhood in Dubai.

The deaths of Ugandan nationals Monic Karungi and Kayla Birungi were both ruled to be suicide by Emirati authorities but their families say the cases were not properly investigated.

🇦🇪 When the mysterious death of a 23-year-old Ugandan in Dubai goes viral, she becomes the face of the disturbing #DubaiPortaPotty.#BBCAfricaEye investigates, and finds that behind the rumours lies an even darker reality.

🎥 Watch the documentary: https://t.co/22ZkzsDNj7 pic.twitter.com/0BpKEoH1Vf

— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 16, 2025

Despite claims that the Birungi had taken alcohol and drugs prior to her death, the BBC verified laboratory tests that found no such substances in her blood.

Responding to the BBC's investigation, Mwesigwa said: "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."

A 2023 Reuters investigation described Dubai as having a "thriving" sex trafficking industry, which involves the "torment" of women, particularly from the African continent.

According to the report, the Emirati authorities did "little to protect these women" despite laws carrying heavy prison sentences for sex trafficking.

The UAE's foreign ministry had dismissed claims that it tolerates human trafficking as “baseless and without foundation".

According to the US State Department's 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report: "The Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so."