By Chris Kiwawulo
UNIDENTIFIED gunmen on Tuesday night waylaid and kidnapped a New Vision journalist at the entrance of Sheraton Hotel in Kampala.

Four men, armed with AK47 rifles, abducted Sebidde Kiryowa at around 7:45pm at the gate of Sheraton, where he was going to attend a function in honour of the Tusker Project Fame winner, Esther Mugizi Nabaasa.

Kiryowa said a white double-cabin pickup truck pulled up behind him as he had just been cleared by the hotel’s security guards. Four men jumped out, surrounded his car and cocked their guns.

“When the Sheraton security guards asked them what the problem was, they said it was a security operation,” Kiryowa narrated.

One of them, he said, grabbed his car keys and ordered him out.

He was taken into the pick-up truck, his shirt was removed and he was blindfolded.

“On the way, they handcuffed me, removed my shoes and pushed my head down behind the co-driver’s seat.

“They removed everything in my pockets, including my wallet which contained my ID and ATM card as well as sh210,000 cash.”

Kiryowa said one of the men ordered that he be checked for recording or listening devices but they found none.

“When I asked why I was being arrested, one of the kidnappers said: ‘I think you know what this is all about. If you don’t know, you will find out.”

The assailants asked for his name and what his exact assignment was at The New Vision.

“They also asked me whether I had a laptop and I told them I had none.”

The kidnappers, according to Kiryowa, were speaking to him in English and Luganda, but would occasionally change to Runyankore when speaking among themselves. Kiryowa said he was taken to a quiet place.

“They led me into a small room, where I was forced to lie down. One held my head down with his shoes. They demanded to know who had written the story about the Pakistani car dealers,” Kiryowa said.

Saturday Vision ran a story describing how two Pakistanis almost fought at Kati Kati restaurant in Kampala where their foreign minister was meeting the Pakistani community.

“While in the room, the men suddenly turned furious. They repeatedly hit me on the buttocks with something hard. They then asked me about other stories I was working on. They also wanted to know who had contacted me in the past days.”

After nearly one hour of interrogation and beatings, Kiryowa was taken out of the house and put in the back seat of another car, which he later discovered was his own.

“They drove me to a place where they removed the handcuffs. When I lifted my blindfold, I saw them taking off into the night. The car was ransacked and all my documents were scattered. I recovered my phone and my wallet but the sh210,000 was stolen.”

Kiryowa asked an Askari guarding a nearby gate where he was and he was told he was in Kololo. “I then asked for the shortest route to the airfield and drove back to The New Vision offices.”

He was treated at Kampala International Hospital for the bruises he sustained from the beatings.

The matter has been reported to the Police and the coordinator of the security agencies, Gen. David Tinyefuza.

“We take this matter extremely seriously,” said Editor-in-Chief Els De Temmerman.

“If anybody has any grievances over any story, they can contact editorial management or refer the matter to the Media Council.

“Abducting, intimidating and torturing a journalist on assignment is a crime and a grave infringement on freedom of the press. We shall get to the bottom of this.”