Kasirye said joint investigations involving other security agencies were underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the abduction and track down the suspects.
The parents of a 15-year-old boy abducted from their home in Kalungu District are living in fear after suspected kidnappers threatened to mutilate and kill him unless they pay a sh60m ransom.
The abductors reportedly claimed to have severed two fingers of the teenager, Joseph Kateregga, and threatened to behead him if his family failed to meet their demands.
Kateregga, a recent Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) candidate at New Kalungu West Junior School, was kidnapped on the night of Friday, November 6, from his home in Kalungu Rural Village, Kalungu Town Council.
The teenager had returned home the previous week to begin his school holidays after completing his primary school examinations.
According to his mother, Betty Nabuyungo, the attackers struck at about 8:00pm when Kateregga was asleep in a bedroom with his younger brother.
Nabuyungo said she was preparing supper in the kitchen while her husband was away when she heard her son screaming for help.
“I was in the kitchen preparing supper while my husband was still away. I heard my son screaming for help, but by the time I rushed into the house, he had already been taken away on a motorcycle that was waiting outside,” she said.
She immediately raised an alarm, attracting neighbours who helped alert police in Kalungu. Security personnel subsequently mounted roadblocks across the area in an attempt to intercept the suspects, but the initial operation did not yield an immediate breakthrough.
Ransom demands
Nabuyungo said the suspected kidnappers first contacted her on Saturday, November 7, a day after the abduction.
She said the callers initially questioned whether she genuinely loved her son before demanding sh50m for his release.
The ransom figure reportedly changed during subsequent telephone conversations, with the suspects threatening her against reporting the matter to police.
The situation reportedly worsened on Sunday night, November 8, when one of the callers claimed that they had cut off two of Kateregga’s fingers.
“They called again and demanded sh40m, urging me to send the money quickly because, according to them, his fingers had started decomposing,” Nabuyungo said.
She said she pleaded with the callers, explaining that the family was financially struggling and could not raise such an amount, but they allegedly responded with more threats.
The kidnappers reportedly threatened to behead the teenager and direct his family to the location where his body would be dumped if they failed to pay.
In another communication on Tuesday night, November 10, the suspects reportedly increased their ransom demand to sh60m in cash.
They claimed to be operating from Nyendo, a busy suburb in neighbouring Masaka City, before switching off their phones.
The family says it has no known disputes with anyone in the community and is struggling to understand why the teenager was targeted.
Fear grips community
When we visited the family home, Nabuyungo was visibly distressed and frequently broke down in tears as relatives and neighbours gathered to console her.
The abduction has also sent shockwaves through Kalungu Rural Village, where residents say kidnapping for ransom is uncommon.
The village chairperson, Joseph Makambuuza, said the area occasionally experiences petty crimes, including theft of crops and livestock, but the abduction of a child for ransom was unprecedented.
Makambuuza suggested that the suspects could have mistakenly believed the family was wealthy and urged security agencies to intensify the search for the missing teenager.
He said the incident had heightened fear among residents, particularly parents worried about the safety of their children.
Police launch investigations
The Masaka Regional Police spokesperson, Twaha Kasirye, confirmed that police had registered the case and were treating it with urgency.
Kasirye said joint investigations involving other security agencies were underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the abduction and track down the suspects.
He warned the kidnappers to release Kateregga unconditionally or face the full force of the law.
He also appealed to members of the public with information that could help establish the boy’s whereabouts to share it with police confidentially.
By press time, the suspected kidnappers had reportedly stopped communicating with the family, leaving Kateregga’s parents uncertain about his fate as security agencies continued with investigations.
The family is appealing to security authorities to intensify efforts to locate and rescue the teenager alive.