In a sad incident at Namaliri trading center in Mukono district, a five year old child named Hope Biyinzika was kidnapped and later found dead after her parents paid a ransom of 1 million shillings.
The young girl had just returned home from Skylac Junior School when she mysteriously disappeared. Initial investigations suggest that she changed her clothes upon returning home, and it’s believed she was kidnapped during this time when no one else was present.
Hope’s father, Vincent Kikomba, explained, “By the time she came back, no one was at home. When the child returned from the garden at around 5 pm, Biyinzika was nowhere to be seen, and the search for her began.”
When Hope couldn’t be found, her parents alerted the community through the local public address system and reported the situation to the police.
A day after her disappearance, an unknown male called Hope’s father, demanding a 5 million shillings ransom for her release. The family negotiated with the kidnapper, and an agreement was reached to reduce the ransom to UGX 2.6 million. The family raised UGX 1 million through community contributions and sent it to the kidnappers. They were given three days to find the remaining UGX 1.6 million, or the child would be killed.
When the deadline passed, the kidnappers disconnected their phone. Tragically, the decomposing body of the girl was discovered in a neighbor’s pit latrine.
Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson, confirmed the incident and revealed that all the family members were in the garden when the child returned home.
Enanga described it as a distressing incident, saying, “This is an unfortunate incident where an innocent three-year-old child is targeted and taken through all that pain.”
Six suspects, including Fred Kayemba, Walugembe Fred, Allan Ssenkuba, Ben Kiyingi, Emmanuel Katongole, and Fatuma Nansubuga, are in custody, while the key suspect and mastermind of the kidnapping and murder is still on the run, with an ongoing search for his apprehension.
