Wakiso woman hunting Chinese national over sh75m childcare debt

WAKISO - Wakiso district resident Sophia Nyangoma is conducting a desperate public search for Chinese engineer Dan Zhaolong, who allegedly abandoned his childcare responsibilities and a shilling 75 million (10.5 million per year since 2018) debt after vanishing to China eight years ago. 

The mother of his daughter, Lee Su Jin, has now turned to New Vision Online to track down the man she once called "a good husband" but who "disappeared without settling his debt."

Nyangoma’s quest centres on a binding memorandum of understanding signed in 2016 with Zhaolong and his employer, China New Era Group Corporation, during the construction of Kiruddu and Kawempe National Referral Hospitals.

Under the agreement drawn by NIM Advocates and Solicitors, the engineer from Zhijiang City, Hubei Province, pledged $3,000 annually (about shillings 10.5 million) for their daughter’s education, housing, and medical care, a promise he kept only until 2018.

"Zhaolong used to provide shillings 10.5 million per year when we signed the MOU, but stopped when he disappeared to China," Nyangoma revealed on Thursday, September 4, 2025, her voice cracking as she recalled their life behind Kiruddu Hospital: "I loved my husband very much because he was renting a house for us where we were all residing. He was promising to take me to China and construct for me a house there."

The vanishing act and a suspicious "death"

Nyangoma’s hope turned to suspicion when Zhaolong cut contact and when a mysterious caller used his registered number (+8613264919192) to deliver grim news.

"Someone who picked up our call said Zhaolong died after leaving Uganda on an emergency," she said. 

"But there was no death certificate. I could not establish the cause of death."

Sophia Nyangoma, the mother of Lee Su Jin (on phone) is yearning to receive child support from her former husband Eng Dan Zhaolong from China. (Credit: Isaac Nuwagaba)

Her frustration deepened, recalling their agreement to avoid involving China New Era Group in personal matters.

"We made a covenant to cease and desist from involving the third party...  but he later declined his responsibilities."

A glimmer of hope 

Nyangoma’s breakthrough came with the launch of Kampala’s Eric-Wang Foundation, a new non-governmental organisation dedicated to locating Ugandan-born Chinese abandoned by Chinese fathers. 

"When I heard they launched a humanitarian drive to identify these children, God answered my prayers," she said.

Foundation Director Eric Wang confirmed their mission after hearing how "our colleagues’ children who resemble us are being laughed at in society for lacking what to eat." 

He pledged to "connect vulnerable children to their fathers outside Uganda"—a lifeline for Nyangoma, who insists: "My child must get the necessary care needed like any other Chinese child."

Beyond the debt

This case exposes a painful pattern: As China-Uganda projects like the Entebbe-Kampala Expressway flourish, abandoned mixed-heritage children face "cultural identity issues, social stigma, and limited access to resources," Wang emphasised. For Nyangoma, it’s deeply personal.

"He was a good man," she whispered, holding her daughter’s photo. "But without that Sh10.5m [per year], how do I give her what he promised?"

With the foundation now mobilised, Nyangoma’s hunt enters a critical phase. 
One question lingers: Will Zhaolong reappear—or will Lee Su Jin become another statistic in Uganda’s hidden crisis of abandoned children?