Woman Detained Over Kidnapping  A 4-Year Old Boy To Pay Off Her Mother’s Debt Of Shs 200,000  

By Gad Masereka

Kampala: A lady who allegedly kidnapped a 4-year-old boy from his mother after she allegedly failed to pay a Shs 200,000 debt has been detained by police in Kabalagala.

According to Jacqueline Basilika, Sharon Kihembo came up to her on Tuesday night at 9 o’clock and requested for her son’s assistance in carrying some belongings she had left at the boda-boda stage.

The two were acquainted in Kanyogoga village, Bukasa parish, Makindye Division, thus Basilika did not hesitate to give her son permission to assist Kihembo even though she was unaware that the goal was to kidnap him.

According to Basilika, she then learned terrible news from another acquaintance, Grace Alenyo, that Kihembo had called and demanded payment of the debt before releasing the child. Alenyo claims Kihembo told her that four years after giving Basilika the money while she was expecting the kidnapped child, she never bothered to pay it back.

“Yes, she gave me 200,000 Sh while I was pregnant, and I owe her that. I had no idea, though, that she was capable of going so far as to kidnap my child. Basilika told the police, “She even said she required Shs 800,000 right away, not the Shs 200,000 she offered me.

However, after capturing Kihembo from Kampala’s Nakasero market on Thursday, police were able to find the boy. Later, Kihembo provided the police with the location of Makindye-Salama where she had hidden the boy while she awaited Basilika’s money transfer.

Kihembo was arrested as a result of a tip from citizens, according to Luke Owoyesigyire, the deputy spokesperson for the Kampala Metropolitan Police. Basilika and the boy have now been reunited by police, and Kihembo is currently being held in Kabalagala police custody while he awaits trial on kidnapping charges.

“We would like to express our profound gratitude to the citizens who helped with the inquiry by sharing information. Engole Mark was found thanks in large part to public and police cooperation, according to Owoyesigyire.