Watch your back: Anyone can be kidnapped

In the last couple of weeks there have been stories reported in the media of a woman kidnapped and the abductors demanding for (money) ransom from the families of respective victims. COURTESY PHOTO

What you need to know:

On spot. The recent kidnaps and killings of women have a nation gripped in fear, Esther Oluka and Andrew Kaggwa explore how families and victims can handle kidnap situations.

In the last couple of weeks there have been stories reported in the media of a woman kidnapped and the abductors demanding for (money) ransom from the families of respective victims.
Ideally, upon receiving the money, the kidnappers are supposed to release the victim but, as seen of late, the captors are resorting to keeping the funds as well as murdering their captives.
Some of these kidnappers even go to extremes of demanding for more money before releasing the bodies of victims.
Such incidents continue to grip the nation as nationals continue leaving under tension.

Anybody can be kidnapped
And unlike in the past decades where many of the victims were children, today, the story is different. Anybody regardless of their age and sex can be kidnapped says Freddie David Egesa, a private investigator with Absolute Guard Services and Investigators Ltd.
“Everyone is a potential candidate. It does not even matter if you are young or old,” he says.
Most kidnaps are masterminded by the unusual people, some of whom could even be lovers, relatives or business associates.
“It is in very unlikely circumstances that a kidnapper will capture a person they barely know. How will they know your worth? These people are smart. They will want to detain someone whose value they know,” Egesa says.

If the kidnap was not masterminded by people desperate for money, Egesa says some of the kidnappers do it as a way of settling a score with the victim or avenging their respective families.
“But either way, when someone is captured, their survival chances are about 15 percent. The kidnappers are always uncomfortable freeing their victims who may return to narrate the ordeal, hence, increasing their chances of getting caught,” Egesa notes.

But even with such a small percentage, victims and their respective families need to keep the hope alive.
According to Emmanuel Ssekidde, a psychiatrist clinical officer working at Serenity Center along Entebbe Road, some of the captors are not in the right state of mind;
“They may have abnormal personality or mental disorders like depression, mood swings or social withdrawal that may propel them to do commit particular crimes in society,” he says adding that there are those that are sadists and simply enjoy inflicting pain onto other people. Ssekidde urges authorities to subject suspects to psychiatrist evaluation to find out whether they are in the right state of mind or not.

What does the victim do when kidnapped?
A former kidnapped victim who spoke to Daily Monitor on condition of anonymity says she was kidnapped at the age of 23 years while at the university. She was held for a week.

The reason the now 29 year old believes she survived getting killed was because she cooperated with the two captives.
“They wanted an amount of Shs10 million from my family. Deep down, I knew that if I disobeyed them, they would end my life. So, I did exactly as told,” she says, adding, “I listened to instructors carefully and made the phone calls as told,”
It was her cooperativeness that saw her being freed by her captors as well as allowed to take a bath. The businesswoman however declines to respond to the question on whether her captives raped her or not.

After the captives received their ransom, she was lucky they released her. Despite gaining her freedom, she became depressed and was forced to undergo professional counselling to help her come to terms with the ordeal. Besides cooperation, Egesa says if the victims also see the smallest window of opportunity of escaping from their captors, they should use it.
“If you even get the slightest chance to kill this kidnapper, go ahead and do it. Whether it means hitting or stabbing them. Don’t hesitate or fear. This is your life we are talking about which most times they never spare,” he says.

Similarly, Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson says when one is attacked for a possible kidnap, it is important that they defend themselves. “I have known of cases where these things (pepper sprays) have saved people from being harmed,” he says.
Besides using pepper sprays, Egesa gives the other options of biting, kicking or hitting the kidnapper with a blow. (where can one get pepper spray?)

But most importantly, Owoyesigyire says it is important for people to know their area police stations and dial codes especially if they can be able to make the call or run to police in case they’ve sensed danger. In a new development, police has also launched a mobile phone application, UPF Mobi, which among other things people can use to report missing people.

What the family members should do in case of a kidnap?
Whenever a loved one goes missing especially during the first 24 hours, it is important that concerned parties first cross check with other family members, relatives and friends.
“Make calls, send messages and utilise social media mostly Facebook to make announcements,” advises Egesa.
If no one has seen the person, then, proceed and report to the nearest police station.

In circumstances where the kidnappers deal directly with families of victims, Egesa says it is important they continue involving police underground.
“ Kidnappers hate police and that is why many times they send a strong warning to families not to involve them,” Egesa says, adding, “ But my advice is, please involve law enforcement officers because they know how exactly the criminal minds of these kidnappers operate.”
As families of victims negotiate with kidnappers, Egesa emphasises that the police should also be alerted of the situation at hand.

Dealing with Grief
When the worst happens though, families usually have to forge a way forward, Gladys Ananura, a counselling psychologist at Care Couselling Centre says that deaths that occur from kidnaps are always surrounded with mysteries, which always makes it difficult for families of victims to cope; “What even makes it worse is that the media often comes up with new information related to the deaths which traumatises these families more.”

Ananura says that it is important for media to be responsible in their reporting when it comes to these kidnap cases while on the other hand affected families, if it helps, should stay away from such media content as they grieve.
She however insists that families that have lost loved ones in these kidnap incidents, get exposed to the actual truth of why the person was killed as a way of coming to terms with the death.

FIGHTING THE CRIME
Fighting the crime According to a 2017 police report, 27 kidnap cases were reported that year, and of that number, one was found dead and at least 15 were rescued alive while eight are still missing.
However, another record by the now disbanded Police Flying Squad looks at kidnaps in the period of three years noting that 48 people have been kidnapped, 26 were found alive while 8 were found dead and other eight were cases of self-kidnap.
It’s not known if all the 8 dead over the three years a ransom was asked for.

As of 2017, at least 27 suspects have been arrested with 16 charged and 11 under inquiry.
But even when most of the pronounced victims are female there is a number of babies and men with the most recent being that of Abel Katende that was kidnapped, murdered and his body dumped in a pit latrine.
Some victims have been discovered with their bodies mutilated though Egesa says that sometimes these are only tricks master minders use to mislead investigators that one was killed for sorcery.

While others resort to rape to complicate the case; for instance, in May, when Elizabeth Nakato, 32, was killed, it was discovered suspects had resolved to having sex with her body to mislead the investigations.
Three suspects including her brother were later arrested and believed to have harboured intentions to take her three plots of

Emergency numbers to call
999 as the immediate helpline
0800199399 for joint security command
0800122291 for the emergency response unit.

Be on your guard
• Avoid moving alone especially late in the night.
• Stay away from areas that have dark spots.
• Make it a point to know the nearest police post to your home.
• 999 is the easiest emergency number you should always call.
• Be cautious about any suspicious looking people around you.
• Ensure that at least one other person knows where you are at all times.