UJCC condemns gruesome kidnaps, murders

(File photo)

LENT | EASTER

KAMPALA - The Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) has condemned the brutal murders that have occurred in different parts of the country.

In their Easter message delivered by the chairperson, Archbishop of Kampala Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, UJCC said it is incumbent upon all Christians to steer clear of evil.

The group also asked government to bring to book the offenders.

"The gruesome killings and abductions that are happening against innocent children, women and men in our own towns and villages are appalling and we urge government to pay more attention to people's needs, especially security," Lwanga said.

He said the government should provide all the necessary resources to strengthen the security of the country, especially the criminal investigations arm, and bring the offenders to justice without fear or favour, including government officials.

Recent murders

The media is awash with cases of kidnap and murder every other day.

This week, 33-year-old Charity Genius Kyohairwe was kidnapped and murdered in cold blood.

Her captors demanded a ransom of sh5m to release her or they kill her.

However, when her relatives contacted the kidnappers to find out whether they had received the first installment of sh2.5, they told them not to send any more money.

Instead, Kyohairwe's captors advised them to pick her body from Mulago mortuary because they had reportedly worked with Police.

Several weeks earlier, 28-year-old Susan Magara was kidnapped in Mengo and her kidnappers demanding a sh700m ransom, which was allegedly paid.

However, they ended up killing her.

A number of arrests have been made in connection to her murder.

Francis Ekalungar, 49, an accountant at Case Clinic, was also a victim of kidnapping. He would later be found dead hours after his disappearance.

In 2017, 23 women were gruesomely murdered in Wakiso district, mostly in Entebbe.

A number of child kidnaps have also be registered in the country, where captors take hold of the children, call their parents and demand a ransom.  A number of rescues and arrests have been registered.

The Police Flying Squad, for example, rescued two children - Ahmed Buwema and Hadijja Nayigaga - who were kidnapped by two men from school in Nsangi, Wakiso district last year.