Two arrested for allegedly kidnapping a child in Bushenyi

By Farish Magembe

Police in Masaka have arrested two men identified as Expedito Kitagata aged 26 and Frank Ankwasa 20 years. The two were caught red-handed in a lodge with a child whom they kidnapped last week on Sunday from Ishaka town in Bushenyi district.

Clare Atwire, the mother of two and half year old child Isaac Mukiza, said her son went missing from Kizinda market, Ishaka. She noticed the child was missing at around 1:00pm on Sunday afternoon. Later that evening, she received a call from an unidentified person who informed her they had kidnapped her son.

The frightened mother who recalled that, “I was shivering and sweating because I had nowhere to start from," was told to send the kidnappers five million shillings or her son Mukiza would be killed within a day.

On the point of breakdown from the stress, Clare sought assistance from Bushenyi police station which tracked the call line which was used by the kidnapers with coordinates pointing to their Nyendo, Masaka location.

The Criminal investigators at Bushenyi police station coordinated with Masaka Central Police Station which swiftly deployed a flying squad team at Kyalusowe guest house in the slums of Nyendo Masaka municipality. The two suspects were found with the child.

Police also arrested the manager of Kyalusowe guest house for failing to take any record of the guests who had resided there for more than 24 hours.

Lameka Kigozi, the Masaka sub-region deputy police commandant, added that they will arrest any employees of guest houses found operating illegally.

Kigozi has also appealed to locals in Nyendo more especially leaders to join them in the struggle to end all forms of criminality since many criminals use the opportunity of congestion in this area to hide in Nyendo.