By Robert Segawa
Police in Greater Masaka have intensified the hunt for two suspects accused of kidnapping a 15-year-old Primary Seven pupil of Kalungu West Primary School and demanding a ransom of Shs60 million.
The development follows an operation launched by the Flying Squad and officers from Kalungu Police Station to track down the kidnappers, who allegedly threatened to behead the boy if his family failed to pay the ransom.
The victim has been identified as Katerega Joseph, a Primary Seven pupil and son of Manuel Sserwadda and Betty Nabuyungo, both residents of Kalungu Village in Kalungu Town Council, Kalungu District.
It is alleged that the kidnappers abducted the boy from his parents’ home shortly after he returned from school to prepare for his Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE).
Twaha Kasirye, the police spokesperson for Greater Masaka, said the boy was later abandoned in Ntale Village after the suspects discovered that police were tracking them.
Kasirye said the victim was taken for a medical examination before being reunited with his parents.
In his statement to police, Katerega said his captors had kept him in the ceiling of an unfinished house before eventually taking him and dumping him at a junction in Ntale Village.
Police on Friday morning reunited Katerega with his parents at Kalungu Central Police Station.
The boy’s mother, Betty Nabuyungo, thanked the Uganda Police Force for the successful operation, saying the kidnappers had subjected the family to threats and intimidation.
Nabuyungo narrated that the suspects had threatened to cut off the boy’s fingers one by one if the family failed to send the demanded money.
She added that the kidnappers had warned her against involving police, threatening that if she reported the matter, the family would find their son’s head at a road junction.
Kasirye said no ransom money was paid during the operation, adding that the successful recovery demonstrated police’s capacity to track down criminals when communities cooperate with security agencies.
He urged parents and guardians to remain vigilant and closely monitor their children, particularly during the school holidays, warning that criminals could exploit the period to abduct children for ransom.
“We call upon Ugandans to be extra careful and monitor their children, especially during this holiday, because wrongdoers may use kidnapping tactics to target young children for ransom,” Kasirye said.
