World Of Secrets - Death in Dubai: 3. The most powerful pimp

Episode Date: September 29, 2025

Kiera and Mia remember Monic as charismatic and kind-hearted. They were living with her in Dubai and can reveal the shocking reality of her life there, saying they were all trapped in a prostitution ring run by a man they believe is “the most powerful pimp in Dubai”. They say they’re scared of him but are determined to speak out, to get justice for their friend. This episode contains strong language. Presented by investigative journalist Runako Celina.Season 9 of World of Secrets, Death in Dubai, is a BBC Eye investigation, produced in association with Thread Studios, for the BBC World Service. Please note, the image is being used for illustrative purposes only and the person depicted in it is a model.If you feel distressed by the references in this story, please speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support such as Befrienders Worldwide. www.befrienders.org For UK listeners, details of organisations offering information about or support after sexual abuse, or with feelings of despair, are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline. Here’s a link to the BBC Eye documentary film, which we recommend you watch after listening to this podcast: https://bit.ly/bbcdeathindubaiIf you are in the UK, you can watch on iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/n12t256jg

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RBC, ideas happen here. Episodes of World of Secrets are released weekly, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. But if you're in the UK, you can listen to the full season right now, first, on BBC Sounds. A heads up that this episode has some strong language and discusses abuse. There's pounding at Kira's door, voices shouting her name. She's thinking, what on earth is going on?

The other girls are yelling that Monica has died. Her body's been found on the ground outside a high-rise. Kira runs there as fast as she can. I went to the building, but I was scared of reaching well. scared of reaching where the body is. I stayed behind because I was scared. It was my first time to see a human body. The police were there trying to cover the body, everything, but it was a big trauma for us. Almost immediately, Kira starts hearing whispers about what's happened to her friend. It was just like too much. Everyone was talking, seeing these different stories.

Monica was depressed they all were how could they not be you know sometimes you go through things in life and you think death is the only solution the solution to everything but she doesn't think Monica would take her own life

she was always determined when she wants something she will go for it she will always get it she doesn't give up easily she's a person who never gives up on something She'll always keep on trying, trying so hard. Back in the apartment, it's chaos as the news spreads.

Everyone's shouting. They're all in shock. There are lots of girls there. Me is one of them. And she can't believe what she's hearing. They say Mona has committed suicide. But the Mona I know, my Mona can never commit suicide. For real, she can't.

Yes, maybe she was in a bad situation. She was broke. But she used to love life. She had big dreams. And then just let's go and falls. Monica was like, you have to take care of yourself. So how can someone like that commit suicide? Earlier that week, Monica had posted a selfie video.

She's in a peach cut out dress, wearing a dramatic black bob and black eyeliner. She's looking straight at the camera, posing, blowing a kiss at one point. Her friends hope that things are finally looking up for her. She's about to be free. But four days later, she's dead. This is World of Secrets. Season 9. Death in Dubai.

From the BBC World Service, I'm Renarko Selena. Episode 3, The Most Powerful Pimp. Monica's family, back on the farm in Uganda, didn't really know much about her life in Dubai. At first glance, looking at her socials, It looked incredible. You look like fine white. Monica in glamorous hotels, posing in bikinis, the shining Dubai skyline behind her. Hello.

But looking closely, you could see scratches and bruises on her skin. Perhaps Monica was trying to protect her family by not telling them everything. But Kira and Mia say they know what happened to Monica in Dubai. Because they say it happened to them. that girl had a lot that killed her. It was a lot for one person. Everything was messed up on her side all the time. Mess, mess.

Like Monica, Kira left her small village in Uganda, first for Kampala and then Dubai, hoping for a better life. She had been in Dubai for over a year before Monica arrived. And when they met, they'd. quickly became friends. She uses her nickname, Mona. Yeah, we used to call her Mona. She found me there.

She was a sweet soul, very innocent. She was so caring, very intelligent. Yeah, with big dreams. She was not happy because what she expected is not what she got. The day that man brought her to Dubai, that's when all her dreams got fucked up. Kira pulls at her sleeves, her eyes darting around the room, while Mia plays with her hair. Mia and Kira are not their real names, and actors are voicing their words to protect them.

Mia arrived in Dubai from Uganda before Kira and remembers when Monica turned up. The moment Mona saw me we connected, she was such a sweet girl. She used to tell me you're so beautiful to be staying in a dirty place like this. That dirty place was a cramped apartment they shared with lots of other girls in al-Basha. There were like 50 girls, 50 girls living there. Girls are there smoking, drinking, like naked. The house was dirty. Everything was so shocking.

They tell you something, you find something else. The man who Kira and Mia say tricked them into coming to Dubai is the same man that sent Monica, the so-called friend who assured Rita that her sister would be safe. Kira saved his contact number, and it's the same number Rita has for him. She also has photos of this guy. And these match the Instagram account I find using his number. His name is Umar Bashir. It was Bash.

Bashir, Umar Bashir. I got to know him through us. friend. He started telling me, you are poor. You are broke. You are stressed. You can make money. Go to Dubai. He was sending me videos of girls earning money. Bash told me you. You know you are a beautiful girl. Why are you here? In Dubai you can even be sitting on the beach and they splash you money. You don't have to do anything. Your beauty stands out for you. You don't have to do anything. You don't have to do anything. You don't have to sleep with them.

That's what he used to tell us. You know, us girls, you're very stupid, I'm sorry to say that. He made me believe him, and yet it was all wrong. Bash transports girls from here, promising them the world, the best, everything. And then they end up in Dubai. And after reaching Dubai, they found something else. They do prostitution, they go through a lot. The girls I've spoken to say that for them, this nightmare started with Bash.

If I'm going to try and understand what happened to Monica, I need to know more about him. And the only way to do that is to go undercover. I create an Instagram account using my holiday pictures with an AI face superimposed on top and ask my colleague, a Ugandan journalist, to provide the voice. Using this account, we send Bash a follow request, and he accepts. He also adds us as a contact on WhatsApp so we can see his status updates. And in them, he's advertising jobs in Dubai, cleaning and hospitality gigs. He's also saying, hit me up if you need a passport, national ID or birth certificate,

with a picture of stacks of bright blue Ugandan passports. Is he bluffing, or is this for real? Is it pathetic? Our undercover reporter is about to call Bash. The man whom Monica's families say arranged for her to go to Dubai. She's posing as someone interested in going there for work. Are you? I call?

Yeah, let's go. What you have dialed is out of service. Please try again later. Frustrating. We try again. Maybe I call him on a laptop. Good evening, Mr. Bash. Yes, how are you? I am okay.

Yeah. My name is Kovya and Ably Me. Yes, Konya. I have been trying to call you directly for some days. Okay. I need a job abroad. Okay.

Bash asks how she got his number. From a girl in Kampala, she tells him. Have you traveled before? No, I've never traveled out of Kampala, out of Uganda. You have a passport? No, I don't have a passport. Bash asks again, who gave her... his number. Maybe he's getting a bit suspicious. Our undercover reporter tries to throw him off. I can't

remember her name, she tells him. Then he asks her to send him some photos. I give you my pictures. I don't know how you can help me. The line goes dead. We try again. He has declined the call. He's texting. He tells her to send him seven photos. She sends through the fake ones we made. Seemingly satisfied, he focuses again on her identity documents,

asking for a national ID card. I don't have one, she replies. I'm going to get one for you, he writes, asking for info. Send me your names and date of birth. He's saying he's going to check the Ugandan government identity system, the Naira Register. Only government officials should have access to this. The following day, our undercover reporter gets back on the phone with Bash. I had told you what I have done before.

I have done cleaning, I have washed clothes, like I have... I know, I have... We are going to go to that stage. I want to first get you in the system. I want to get you in the system, he says. Then he sends a screenshot of a woman's ID photo. It looks like it's from a database. It says application details, and it has her signature.

She has the same name we've given our undercover. of a reporter. Is that you? He texts. We say no. Then he sends another photo, a different girl with the same name. I'm listening across on a phone line from the UK.

Wow, and it actually does say, that's so interesting, the screenshot of the film, because it really is from the database. Well, it's from something. Look at it. It says application details. He would have had to, like,

oh my gosh, that's kind of scary. That's scary. Oh, really. Wow. Bash appears to have access to official government identity systems, allowing him to pull personal data on millions of Ugandans. He's far better connected than we realized. Liz went from being interested in true crime to living true crime. My husband said, your dad's been killed.

This is hands tied. a true crime podcast exploring the murder of Jim Milgar. I was just completely in shock. Liz's father murdered, and her mother found locked in a closet, her hands and feet bound. I didn't feel real at all. More than a decade on,

she's still searching for answers. We're still fighting. Listen to Hands Tide on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It seems that Bash handles the Ugandan side, scouting girls and arranging the travel documents. But once they get to Dubai, they're handed over to another man. All I know so far is that this boss is also from Uganda.

But Michael, Monica's relative, remembers him saying that he'd been in Dubai for 25 years and doesn't fear the authorities. Michael remembers him saying, Dubai is mine. Kira and Mia also warned me that he's powerful. They fear him. In Dubai, he's known as Abby. He's not even one.

He is the most powerful pimpe in Dubai. Mia says when she realized the situation she was in, she tried to leave. She told Abby that she wanted out. I told him I wanted to go back to Uganda. And she says he told her, okay, pack your stuff. I'll book you a plane ticket. The next day, Mia's waiting with her bags, ready to leave.

When suddenly, she says, Abby turns around and tells her she's not going anywhere. He insulted me so much. He said Bash brings me stupid girls. I put money and you, and now you just want to leave? You're stupid. That's the moment I knew I was trapped. Like what am I going to do now? You don't even have a... visa because the first thing he does, he puts you in overstay. When you're an overstay in Dubai, you don't get a job. You're scared to walk on the streets. If you're going to get out of the country, you have to pay an overstay fee, which is a huge amount of money. So he traps you there.

Remember, Michael says Monica told him she was in debt to this Dubai boss. Me and Kira say Abby controlled every moment of their lives. He is your landlord. He is your pimp. You wake, dress up and go and look for money. He drives you to bars with rich people. And you have no choice. Nothing.

The only choice you have is to go outside and sleep with the men. You're working for him. You are slave. That's the life. If you go out and you don't come with money, he would slap you. He would tell you you're useless. He will beat you up. This is not the life in Dubai they were promised, they say.

This, this is a nightmare. They say Abby told them they had a huge debt to pay. Money for air tickets, for your visa, for where you're sleeping, food. Pimping and prostitution are illegal in Dubai, but it's still pretty widespread. Most African sex workers in Dubai stay in the back streets of the old town. Dera. But Kira and Mia say Abby's model is different. During the day, his network sends girls to Dubai's most Instagramable beaches.

And then, at night, to high-end clubs, where influencers and even celebrities hang out. The girls say Abby knows exactly what appeals to the Dubai clientele, what would make him the most money. It's Abbey who decides how they have their nails done, their hairstyles and buys them a whole new wardrobe. But every penny he spends gets added to their debt. He takes you to expensive places at first, so the debts pile up. That means you have to work hard, hard, hard, pleading for men to come sleep with you. Every coin you make, you take it to Abbey. They're dressed to slay, seated at the best tables, with expensive bottles sent over.

But they're not there to enjoy themselves. Their one goal is to find men to sleep with, to try to pay off Abbey's money. Kira says if they don't, they're in trouble. He makes sure he puts fear in you inside your brain. He takes all the money. You have to pay him fast and you can never clear. him. He used to force girls to sleep with him. He told

them, you give me, I reduce the money. He's just Abbey, the man who forces. Mia says, Monica would try to refuse Abby's instructions. Abby used to fight with Monica almost every day. She would refuse.

She would refuse. Because you can't force Monica to do something she doesn't want. Abby used to abuse Monica because she would go out, get a man. They would just enjoy. She would forget about money. Then Abby would get so mad.

You're there. You're drinking champagne. She would just order for more. And just forget about the money. Yeah, that was Mona. Monica was brave, the girls say. She tried to stand up to this boss, the man they know is Abby. But there were times when it was too much.

Once I found her crying because the mom was sick and she didn't have money. She asked Abby to kindly send the money. She would compensate for it. But Abby refused. I found her in bed crying. Mia and Kira did eventually manage to get away. For their safety, I can't go into details of how they did or when, just that they're out. Four months after arriving in Dubai, Mia says Monica came to her with good news.

Remember the phone call to Michael, where he says she was hopeful, excited that a wealthy client, the Muzungu, was going to bail her out. Mia says Monica told her all about that too. Monica got this guy. She explained the guy, the story, how she doesn't want to be in that life anymore. and Mia says that guy did come through with the money money to pay off her debt and renew her visa Mia says he sent it to Abby that was the only way it could happen

because the girls didn't have their own bank accounts the guy sent money to Abby's phone Abby ate the money she got so mad she had this something in mind to go to the police and report Abby Monica used to say that one day I will go to the police and they will fuck you up, Abby.

Mia says that's when Abbe told Monica, get out of my house. She says Monica didn't have the means to go far. She managed to get a shared room in an apartment about 10 minutes away from Althaha Tower. She thinks it was run by a Nigerian guy. She got some kind of job. She was very excited. She thought she was going to get free.

She was going to get her life back because that was a real job, not sleeping with men. Kira and Mia say Abby was furious, claiming she still owed him money. Abby was like, you girls, you think whatever I do for you is easy. That's how the nightmare started. Kira remembers Abby saying that Monica's boldness was starting to rub off on the other girls. Abby told me something that is stuck in my head. The moment you leave my place without clearing me, you end up like Mona. The evening after Monica's body was found, the girls say Abby threw a party.

Food is made, bottles are popped, everyone's drinking. He was happy. How can you celebrate when someone has died? And on top of that, you're the one who introduced her to this country. Which kind of human? Imagine you're the one that brought to this girl here in Dubai. Just making parties, celebrating. Abby, the girls say, was acting like nothing had happened.

Business as usual. But everyone else was really shaken. Monica's new landlord found the girls. He had something important to tell them. He came crying, scared. He said they were in a vibe. Then after that, they all went to sleep. He was with Monica at her new apartment.

They'd been hanging out and drinking. And then, after he'd gone to bed, in the early hours of the morning, he was woken by the sound of raised voices. They had Monica fighting someone at the balcony, but they don't know who that person was. Mia and Kira aren't in contact with the landlord anymore, but I'm going to see if I can find him.

The girls remember Michael turning up at the apartment to confront Abby and hearing him demanding to know what had happened to Monica. And Abby's reply. He was like, she's not so special from others. She's not the first one to die. I'm not going to be the last. These chilling words she remembers Abby saying that Monica wasn't the first.

to die and won't be the last. Kira says that was true. She's not the first girl. The first one was called Kela. Kayla, another Ugandan girl. She died a year before Monica, after falling from an apartment building, close to where Monica's body was found.

I'm in a shopping mall in down. downtown Compala. It's heaving with people, and there are shops selling everything from wigs to furniture. I weave between them, looking for a mobile phone store. I'm here to meet Kayla's brothers, Kamoga and Junior. It's 8pm, and Junior's still working. Kamoga says his sister wanted to be an international model, and hope that would happen in Dubai. He said she was his best friend. I miss my sister. Here. We can let you.

Yeah. We can take our time. What I want, yeah? I want my sister. Five months after she left for Dubai, they got a call from someone out of the blue, telling them, Kayla had jumped to her death from a tall building. And just like Monica's family, they're convinced that Kayla wouldn't have done that. Someone killed her. Not Kayla killed her herself.

She didn't kill her son? No, it can't. Because I know my sister, she's dead her life. Some of the girls who were there when she died told the brothers Kayla had been drinking and taking drugs. This, they were saying, was the cause of her death. The same thing Michael says the police told him about Monica.

Unlike Monica's family, though, Kayla's brothers managed to get an autopsy report. Can you show me? This one. Right. Wow. So this is a forensic medical report on the body of Kayla.

your sister. Yeah. And, right, I see what you're saying, because he says, I have taken a blood sample and sent it to be analyzed for detecting alcohol and drugs. Yeah. But they say, laboratory testing confirmed that the disease was not under the influence of alcohol or narcotic substances at death time. Yeah.

I've spoken to some people who knew Kayla during her time in Dubai. They told me Kayla was living in an apartment managed by Abbey. Kayla, they said, had to pay him rent and bring him money from sleeping with clients. Kayla's brothers didn't know any of this. After she died, they got sent a number. This is for Kayla's landlord in Dubai, they're told. And they share it with me. It's saved as Abbey.

But it's not a Dubai phone number. It starts with plus 4.4. The code for the UK. I run both the numbers I have for Abby through an online database. The one from Monica's sister Rita and the one from Kayla's brothers. They're definitely for the same person. The UK one is connected to a Facebook account. It reveals his full name.

and it's not Abbey. It's Charles Muesigua. I then find an Instagram account for him. It follows Mona. I send a voice note to my colleague. I'm going to call him Mark. He's ex-military and has lots of contacts that will prove useful in the investigation.

So it's frustrating. We have a name. Charles Moussigua slash Abbey But we don't have a picture And he is very careful about not revealing his face You know, I'm looking at a picture of him on WhatsApp His WhatsApp profile picture on one of his two numbers that we have for him And

You have a row of six people On one side You have children you can see their faces and right in the middle you have who we presume to be is Charles slash Abbey and he is facing

backwards the only person facing the opposite direction he's very careful not to show his face but eventually we do manage to get a photo that might be Charles fucking hell that's Mark he's been on this with me from the start

I don't know, maybe not, maybe it isn't. But in the back of his head, books like that picture that he's sent to him at Charles. And he's the same bill. I feel like this has to be him. He's got a bold head. And I'm just looking back at that picture that I managed to get from the first number

that we had linked to Charles. Well, the second one actually. And that one, it shows someone with a bold head turned around. I mean, yeah, it's him. And it's him. I just realized it's him because the sister has commented too. Finally, I actually can't believe this right now. Finally, like, look at him.

Like, no, this is just insane. I show it, along with several other photos of other Ugandan men, to Monica's relative Michael, and ask him, are any of them the guy he confronted in that apartment that day? He points to the picture for Abbey. This is the guy. This man is a devil. To me, he's a devil.

I found the right man. He's certain. Even if I meet him in hell, I would recognize him. I remember his face. I remember everything. Even if I see his picture when I'm sleeping. And now, I think I found someone who might lead me to Abbey. Abbey is doing this as a lifetime business.

I think even when he's dragged out of Dubai, he would continue doing it elsewhere because he's addicted with his business. This man knows him well, knows what he's doing, because he was Abbey's right-hand man. I started as a driver who could drive girls to different places, nightclubs. Later on, I was the operation. I would face the challenges if the police came around, be the person to talk to these girls to convince them to stay in the business. Yeah, that was my role. And now, I'm not sure why, but he's willing to talk.

That's next time on World of Secrets. Later in the series, we're going to try to track down Charles Muesigua, known as Abbey, and give him a chance to respond to these allegations. Rosemary Chisembo, executive director of Naira, said Uma Bashir is not on their staff list. She added that Naira employees sign a data protection in print. privacy agreement and are accountable for safeguarding personal data. Anyone who discloses personal data unlawfully will be punished. We also contacted Umar Bashir, inviting him to respond to the allegations made against him.

He did not reply. We contacted our Basha police station requesting to see the case files for both Monica and Kayla. They did not reply. Then we invited the police to respond to allegations that Monica and Kayla's death. had not been properly investigated. Again, they did not reply. This has been episode three of six of Death in Dubai, season nine of World of Secrets.

Thank you for listening. Please tell people about it and follow or subscribe so you don't miss an episode. World of Secrets, Death in Dubai, is produced by Ruth Evans, Li Chong, Bondo and me, Renarko Selina. The sound design and mix is by Andy Fell. The editor is Rebecca Henski.

Additional reporting by Shemim Mabakosa. Voiceover by Shalifa Kadu and Savannah. It was a BBCI investigation produced in association with Thread Studios. Liz went from being interested in true crime to living true crime. My husband said, your dad's been killed. This is Hands Tide, a true crime podcast exploring the murder of Jim Milgar. I was just completely in shock. Liz's father murdered, and her mother found locked in a closet, her hands and feet bound.

I didn't feel real at all. More than a decade on, she's still searching for answers. We're still fighting. Listen to Hands Tide on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.