Terror suspect nabbed

Sep 23, 2012

Police on Saturday paraded a Pakistani national and suspected terrorist belonging to a new terror group in the country.

By Simon Masaba

Police on Saturday paraded a Pakistani national and suspected terrorist belonging to a new terror group in the country.

The Inspector General of Police, Lt. Gen. Kale Kayihura, said the suspect was nabbed after he kidnapped a woman of Asian origin and demanded $70,000 (about sh175m) ransom.

The suspects asked the family of the kidnapped woman to wire the money to an account in Pakistan.

Kayihura said on the morning of September 2, the suspect contacted the Asian woman, a business woman operating in Old Kampala and asked to meet her at Embassy Supermarket in Kabalagala to transact business.

She was kidnapped when she arrived.

Kayihura identified the suspect as Rafaqat Muhamed, 30. He was arrested on Friday evening from a two-room rental unit in Buziga, a Kampala suburb.

However, the Police are hunting for his accomplice only identified as Azanwal, who is on the run. Azanwal is suspected to have fled the country after the Police arrested his colleague.

The Police have asked Interpol to assist in the manhunt. Kayihura told journalists at the Police Forensics Centre in Naguru that the suspect tied the victim’s legs ad hands with ropes, blindfolded her and locked her in his house.

He added that he received a phone call from the Tororo MP, Sanjay Tanna, that an Asian woman had gone missing and the kidnappers were demanding a ransom.

“This sounded bad in my ears. I immediately set up a joint team from Counter terrorism and Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to track down the suspects and in a day, we managed to arrest one,” Kayihura said.

Kayihura also used the opportunity to promote Beata Chelimo, the commandant of SIU, from the rank of Asst. Commissioner of Police to Commissioner of Police after the job well done.

He added that Rafaqat was part of the eight terror suspects on the wanted list of the International Police. Kayihura said terrorists usually kidnap people to solicit for money to help in their activities.

When he was arrested, Rafaqat claimed to be a Kampala International University student, but failed to show the police detectives where it was located.

Kayihura said the woman was not harmed, except for the marks of ropes on her body.

Kayihura said Rafaqat is a suicide bomber who had sneaked into the country to execute his mission. The woman was handed back to her husband.

Kayihura also took the opportunity to sound a warning to Kiseka market traders who are planning a strike next week that the law will take its course

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