Why Ugandan police tactics are falling short on rising kidnap-for-ransom cases

Security experts are warning that inadequate investment in specialised kidnapping investigation skills has left Uganda’s law enforcement agencies ill-equipped to tackle a growing wave of kidnap-for-ransom cases.

Kampala Metropolitan Police have registered three high-profile kidnappings in the past two months, resulting in two deaths and one successful rescue. Among the victims was Lydia Babirye Sengendo, who was abducted on June 3. Her body was later recovered in Kakiri.

Her killing came weeks after the abduction and murder of 25-year-old footballer Tonny Ssewakyiryanga, a resident of Kikubampanga Cell in Kakiri Town Council, Wakiso district, who was kidnapped on May 3.

In another incident on May 29, police rescued Mollete Komugisha, the wife of St Abel School director, after she was abducted from her home in Bujoweli Zone, Njeru municipality.

The latest victim in what appears to be the same pattern of abduction, ransom demands and murder is seven-year-old Osber Turinayo, who disappeared on June 12 while returning home with other children after watching a movie at a trading centre in Kisoroma village, Kitongore parish, Kisojo sub-county, Kyenjojo district.

According to preliminary police findings, the boy had gone to watch a movie with his brothers but never returned home. Efforts by his family and residents to trace him were unsuccessful.

Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said the family received a phone call three days later demanding a ransom of Shs 1.5 million and threatening to kill the child if the money was not paid.

Rusoke said the disappearance had already been reported to police, prompting investigations.

“Police tracked and arrested Isaiah Manyindo, 26, and Erias Twimukye, 17, who, during interrogation, confessed to kidnapping and killing the seven-year-old. They later led investigators to the crime scene, where the child’s body was recovered, concealed beneath tree leaves,” Rusoke said.

Turinayo’s murder adds to a growing list of kidnap-for-ransom cases across the country, many of which are believed to go unreported.

Private investigator and security expert Fred Egesa warns that ransom kidnappings are likely to increase unless Uganda strengthens its intelligence and investigative capacity. He said the crime first gained prominence in Kenya about a decade ago before spreading to Uganda and other countries in the region.

“Kidnappings are signs of economic distress,” Egesa said, explaining that perpetrators often target vulnerable people whom they believe come from families capable of paying ransom.

He said kidnappers rarely act randomly, but instead gather intelligence on their targets and, in some cases, rely on insiders within financial institutions to identify people with substantial bank balances.

Egesa said he previously advised the Uganda Police Force to prepare for the emerging threat after studying kidnapping trends in Kenya, but his recommendations were never adopted.

“About eight years ago, I advised police and other agencies to adopt crime forecasting as part of intelligence gathering, based on what was happening in Kenya, so they could identify emerging crime trends before they overwhelmed our security agencies. Right now, our police are relying on general investigative knowledge instead of developing specialists in kidnap investigations,” he said.

Another security analyst, Muhammad Kabugo, also attributes the rise in kidnappings to worsening economic hardship. He warned that financially motivated abductions are likely to become more common unless the government strengthens its response.

Although police have consistently advised families not to negotiate directly with kidnappers and instead report such incidents immediately, Kabugo said many relatives, fearing for the lives of their loved ones, feel compelled to engage the abductors.

He added that public confidence in police rescue operations remains low because many victims are recovered only after they have been killed.

Both experts are calling on government to strengthen intelligence gathering, establish specialised kidnapping investigation and rescue units, and move away from relying solely on conventional criminal investigation methods, which they say are increasingly ineffective against evolving organised crime.

Police recorded 206 kidnapping cases nationwide in 2025, down from 245 cases the previous year. However, preliminary data for 2026 point to a worrying shift, with kidnap-for-ransom incidents becoming more common.

Investigators say that when families fail to raise the demanded ransom, or when police become involved despite kidnappers’ warning against it, victims are sometimes killed before rescue efforts can succeed.

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