KAMPALA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan security agencies are getting worked up as a previously uncommon crime, kidnap-for-ransom, is on the rise.
Over the past several months local media is full of stories about kidnaps and the perpetrators are asking for ransom.
One case that police is grappling with is a high schoolgirl who was reported missing. The kidnappers called her relatives demanding a 10 million shilling (about 2,800 U.S. dollars) ransom.
Herbert Muhangi, the police commander of Flying Squad, a unit charged with fighting such crime, told Xinhua in a recent interview that his men are tracking the kidnappers of the missing schoolgirl.
There are cases where police has recorded success in arresting kidnappers and there are instances where such operations have turned out to be fatal.
One case happened in the capital Kampala, where a daughter of city politician was kidnapped and a ransom asked.
"We apprehended the suspects, rescued the girl and soon we shall arraign the suspects in court," said Muhangi.
In another case, a kidnapped girl was abandoned in Mubende, about 145 km west on Kampala, after the police mounted pressure on the suspects.
Another one was fatal. Kidnappers early last month killed the daughter of a businessman after taking the ransom money. According to police, parents of Susan Magara paid over 700 million shillings (195,000 U.S. dollars) to have her released but the kidnappers ended up killing her.
Investigations are still ongoing and one of the perpetrators, according to police, is said to be in South Africa.
Police say they are now faced with a challenge of the genuine kidnap cases being mixed with fake ones.
Muhangi said there is an increase of people faking kidnaps when they want to extort money from their relatives or employers.
Police say out of the seven cases of kidnap reported in the past one week, only two had similarities of true kidnap. Five of them were not related to kidnap.
These cases were reported in Mbarara and Kyenjojo districts in western Uganda and in Kampala.
"In Mbarara there were two cases reported. In one of the cases, a young man wanted to cheat his parents of three million shillings (over 800 dollars)," Muhangi said, noting that the man was later tracked and arrested.
"The other case in Mbarara was of a house girl who abandoned a baby after stealing some property from her bosses. So it was not a case of kidnap per say," Muhangi added.
In another one, a lady connived with her boyfriend to extort money from her relatives.
In a bid to clamp down on the kidnap-ransom crime, the government announced a ban on the sale of SIM cards arguing that criminals were using unregistered numbers to call relatives of their victims.
The government announced stringent measures on how to get a new SIM card and also ordered all telecommunication companies to block unregistered telephone lines.
According to the police, in the case of Suzan Magara, the suspects are said to have contacted her family using several lines that police could not trace.
"People have been using SIM cards registered in pseudo names, which become difficult to trace in case of any crime. But with the new measures where every SIM card must be registered in the owner's names, we shall do better," said Muhangi.
Muhangi said the Flying Squad is now better equipped to handle kidnap cases conclusively.
"We have all the required resources ranging from vehicles, fuel, ICT experts and well-trained field officers. We can easily take swift action once informed in time."
Muhangi said as police plays its part, the public also needs to take preventive measures.
"The jobless youth should also avoid meeting people who call them and promise them jobs. Those who start relationships on social media and want to become intimate without knowing each other should also look out," he warned.
Muhangi tipped parents to create passwords for their children.
"Train children on how to deal with strangers. Give them pass codes. Once the kidnappers fail to introduce the codes and passwords, definitely nothing will take place."
