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Authorities have launched a renewed effort to locate a young man - Charles Paul Othieno – who mysteriously went missing five years ago, casting a shadow of uncertainty over his whereabouts and well-being.  

This development comes amid ongoing concerns regarding a series of unsolved disappearance cases and the emergence of chilling reports related to abductions and ransom demands.

Details surrounding the disappearance of Othieno who vanished without a trace on October 18, 2018, have resurfaced in the public eye.

The Notice

Othieno Paul Charles, a male adult aged 24 disappeared on October 18, 2018, from Namataba zone Kirinya Parish, Bweyogerere division, Kira Municipality, Wakiso district as per CRB 128/2020 of Kirinya Police Station, Kampala.

“Police appeals to whoever has any information which may lead to his whereabouts to pass it in confidence to the nearest Police station or ring telephone numbers 0782833201, 0759688135, 0759 723042, and 0772 694035,” reads excerpts of the notice signed by the Force’s Publicist, Fred Enanga – on behalf of his boss Martins Okoth Ochola.

As the search for the missing 24-year-old intensifies and the unsettling trend of ransom kidnappings continues, several unanswered questions weigh heavily on the minds of the community: Where could the missing 24-year-old be? His sudden disappearance raises concerns about his safety and well-being.

This revelation follows in the wake of recent announcements by law enforcement agencies, confirming the unfortunate demise of -Hope Biyinzika, who was killed by her captors after her family failed to pay sh2.6m ransom.

Before her murder, Biyinzika, 3, was a pupil in baby class at Skyluck Junior School in Namaliri village, Mukono district.

It all started on September 22, at 1:00 p.m., Biyinzika left school to head home. Unfortunately, she was alone, as her parents were working in the garden at the time. She was kidnapped.

So far, Police have arrested six suspects including a woman in Kayunga district.

More Cases

Police have since issued a cautionary alert regarding the resurgence of kidnapping cases involving schoolchildren, with criminals specifically targeting parents for ransom.

Enanga said the territorial Police in Kampala Metropolitan East and Naggalama division are currently grappling with a series of disturbing incidents involving the disappearance of individuals, with two of these cases having been confirmed as kidnappings for ransom.

In another alarming incident classified as a kidnapping for ransom, Ssezibwa region, and Kayunga Police have been investigating the disappearance of a Shafik Ssesanga Nsubuga, 2.

Nsubuga vanished on the evening of September 19, around 8:00 pm, from Nakimbi village, Kangulumira town council in Kayunga district.

Following his disappearance, radio announcements were made, leading to contact from suspects using phone numbers: 0786-066269 and 0756-527205.

“These individuals contacted the mother and demanded a ransom of shillings two million for Nsubuga's release,” Enanga said, citing that on September 22, the suspect reached out to the victim's father and directed him to Kayunga town, near Equity Bank branch – there, the father discovered the clothes of his son in a black polythene bag and received a chilling threat.

In yet another disappearance case, registered in Kasokoso under Kiira division, a 14-year-old Henry Olajo Kanyubi, a pupil at Kampala City Parents School in P7, vanished while on an errand to buy charcoal for his mother, Burungi Margret, around 7:00 pm.

Despite his mother's worries and attempts to reach him on the phone, which was switched off after beeping, Kanyubi never returned home.

On September 18, 2023, Kisakye Maria, a 24-year-old resident of Kiwumu village, Buloba parish, Wakiso, informed the authorities that her sister, Christine Mirembe, aged 15 and a senior two student at Buloba High School, disappeared on September 17, 2023.

Mirembe had left home at about 7:00 am from Kuwumu village, indicating that she needed to prepare for her return to school, and mentioned suffering from a headache, suggesting she needed a medical checkup.