Student, boyfriend remanded for faking kidnap to get ransom from parents

Buganda Road chief magistrate’s court has remanded a 19 year old student together with her boyfriend for faking her kidnap and demanding ransom from her parents.

On Tuesday, court charged Peace Ansiimirwe,a resident of Ishaka in Bushenyi district and her boyfriend Julius Atwebembire, 22 of receiving Shs 750,000 from her mother for ransom in a bid to have her released.

According to prosecution on April 23, 2018 at Kasubi in Lubaga division, Atwebembire and Ansiimirwe hatched a plan to defraud Scovia Nahabwe and demanded three million shillings from her as ransom for releasing Ansiimirwe from kidnappers but received only 750, 000 shillings before they were arrested.

Court heard that Nahabwe took up the matter with police and on tracking the numerous phone numbers used by the alleged kidnappers, they all pointed to Atwebembire who had eloped with her daughter in Kasubi.

The two face charges related to obtaining money by false pretence, demanding property with menaces and conspiracy to commit a felony.

They denied the charges before Buganda road court grade one magistrate Samuel Kagoda remanded them to Luzira until May 18.

Since the kidnap and subsequent murder of 28 year old Susan Magara, a cashier at Bwendo dairy farm in Hoima, the number of kidnaps has gradually increased in the country.

However, a number of these kidnaps have turned out to be hoaxes stage managed to demand money in form of ransom.

Last month, Police in Kampala arrested 21-year old Mariam Uwase who allegedly staged her own kidnap with intent to extort money from her ‘stingy boyfriend’.

Uwase is said to have manipulated her voice using a voice changing software and made frantic teary phone calls to her boyfriend claiming she had been kidnapped and a Shs25m ransom staked on her head.

Her panicky boyfriend wired Shs700,000 and started pleading for her life with commitment to send the remainder of the money once he chances on it but after a few days of negotiation with the alleged abductors, Old Kampala Police launched a secret rescue mission only to find Uwase living fatly and comfortably in a mansion.

Buganda Road court chief magistrate’s court last month convicted Sarah Nasirye Sarah, 26 of charges related to demanding for a ransom from her dad over alleged kidnap.

Nasirye had earlier admitted that on April 18, she demanded for ten million shillings from her father Hajji Sulaiman Mutyaba claiming she had been kidnapped.