Kidnapped actor dumped on railway
Nov 20, 2006
A PEDESTRIAN found local actor Hajji Ashraf Ssimwogerere at 2:00am yesterday tied with ropes on the railway line near Kampala City.
By Chris Kiwawulo
A PEDESTRIAN found local actor Hajji Ashraf Ssimwogerere at 2:00am yesterday tied with ropes on the railway line near Kampala City.
The Police said Moses Ojomba was moving in Kinawataka, Nakawa Division when Ssimwogerere’s yells for help caught his attention.
“Ojomba untied him and they walked to Kireka Police post about 600 metres away. I think whoever tied him wanted the train to crush him,†said Police spokesperson Edward Ochom.
Unknown people allegedly kidnapped Ssimwogerere from the National Theatre on Thursday at the launch of his video, Murder in the City.
The artist was admitted to Mulago Hospital. Ssimwogerere looked worn out but in full command of his senses. On the request of his wife Sharifa, Ssimwogerere was transferred from Ward 3B to 6C at around 11:00am.
His parents Sarah Nankabirwa and Hajji Abdullah Mukiibi wept when they saw him on the drip.
Addressing journalists at the Central Police Station yesterday, Kampala Extra Police chief Grace Turyagumanawe said Ssimwogerere was safe and
sound. Police officers, including Ochom, visited him in Mulago yesterday.
“I have talked to him this morning. He is sound only he had backache, headache and his pressure had increased,†Turyagumanawe said.
Hospital workers allowed a few relatives to his bed where they hugged him.
Sharifa said a Police officer at Kireka Police Post informed her about her husband at around 2:40am. “I first talked to him on phone before I called my neighbour (Ssembatya a.k.a Mwanamugimu) who offered his car to bring him here (Mulago),†she said.
Sharifa said Ssimwogerere said two men picked him from the back stage at the theatre and pushed him into a black tinted car.
“They told him their boss wanted to contribute to the play but would not do so in public. They asked him to pick the contribution from a car that was in the theatre parking yard. Hajji (Ssimwogerere) said when he moved closer, one of them drew a pistol on him and pushed him inside before they sped off.
A resident of Church Zone in Nateete-Lungujja, Lubaga South, Sharifa said Ssimwogerere remembers being blindfolded near Ruth Towers and slapped as he attempted to resist.
It was at that point that the kidnappers demanded the script of part two of his video. They also wanted to know his financiers.
Part two of the video, Who pulled the trigger? is yet to be shown.
Ssimwogerere also remembers climbing stairs on a flat and would hear a Muslim calling others for prayers, but could not tell where he was since he was blindfolded, Sharifa added.
Turyagumanawe said Ssimwogerere appeared normal and was not tortured, adding that they would further interrogate him upon recovery for more information.
Doctor Aggrey Kiyingi challenged the script when it was released earlier this year. Kiyingi is on trial over the murder of his wife. The movie is based on a fictional character, Musoke, accused of murdering his wife Rhona. But the plot is thicker as it involves senior government officials and theft of a huge amount of cash.
A PEDESTRIAN found local actor Hajji Ashraf Ssimwogerere at 2:00am yesterday tied with ropes on the railway line near Kampala City.
The Police said Moses Ojomba was moving in Kinawataka, Nakawa Division when Ssimwogerere’s yells for help caught his attention.
“Ojomba untied him and they walked to Kireka Police post about 600 metres away. I think whoever tied him wanted the train to crush him,†said Police spokesperson Edward Ochom.
Unknown people allegedly kidnapped Ssimwogerere from the National Theatre on Thursday at the launch of his video, Murder in the City.
The artist was admitted to Mulago Hospital. Ssimwogerere looked worn out but in full command of his senses. On the request of his wife Sharifa, Ssimwogerere was transferred from Ward 3B to 6C at around 11:00am.
His parents Sarah Nankabirwa and Hajji Abdullah Mukiibi wept when they saw him on the drip.
Addressing journalists at the Central Police Station yesterday, Kampala Extra Police chief Grace Turyagumanawe said Ssimwogerere was safe and
sound. Police officers, including Ochom, visited him in Mulago yesterday.
“I have talked to him this morning. He is sound only he had backache, headache and his pressure had increased,†Turyagumanawe said.
Hospital workers allowed a few relatives to his bed where they hugged him.
Sharifa said a Police officer at Kireka Police Post informed her about her husband at around 2:40am. “I first talked to him on phone before I called my neighbour (Ssembatya a.k.a Mwanamugimu) who offered his car to bring him here (Mulago),†she said.
Sharifa said Ssimwogerere said two men picked him from the back stage at the theatre and pushed him into a black tinted car.
“They told him their boss wanted to contribute to the play but would not do so in public. They asked him to pick the contribution from a car that was in the theatre parking yard. Hajji (Ssimwogerere) said when he moved closer, one of them drew a pistol on him and pushed him inside before they sped off.
A resident of Church Zone in Nateete-Lungujja, Lubaga South, Sharifa said Ssimwogerere remembers being blindfolded near Ruth Towers and slapped as he attempted to resist.
It was at that point that the kidnappers demanded the script of part two of his video. They also wanted to know his financiers.
Part two of the video, Who pulled the trigger? is yet to be shown.
Ssimwogerere also remembers climbing stairs on a flat and would hear a Muslim calling others for prayers, but could not tell where he was since he was blindfolded, Sharifa added.
Turyagumanawe said Ssimwogerere appeared normal and was not tortured, adding that they would further interrogate him upon recovery for more information.
Doctor Aggrey Kiyingi challenged the script when it was released earlier this year. Kiyingi is on trial over the murder of his wife. The movie is based on a fictional character, Musoke, accused of murdering his wife Rhona. But the plot is thicker as it involves senior government officials and theft of a huge amount of cash.