Charge kidnappers with terrorism - Kayihura

The Inspector General of Police has ordered Criminal Investigations Directorate to prefer terrorism charges against child-kidnappers. Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura said kidnapping and abductions are acts of terrorism which terrorists use to mobilise resources.

“Child-Kidnap, abduction and terrorism are enjoined because terrorists get their money through ransom and then fund their terror attacks. So whoever engages in kidnap must be treated as a terrorist,” Gen. Kayihura said.

His remarks follow the rescue of a Tanzanian boy in Uganda two months after he was kidnapped in Arusha, Tanzania. Aliphan Ali, 8, was found near St. Balikuddembe Market in Kampala on August 13 after the arrest of a female suspect who had gone to withdraw a Shs1.2 million ransom from the bank.

Two suspects, one a Ugandan and another Tanzanian, are still in police custody on allegations of kidnap, police said. Cases of kidnap and abduction are now handled by the Police Counter Terrorism Unit.

This is not the first time Gen. Kayihura has ordered the CID to amend preferred charges. Recently, he directed the CID to prefer murder charges against any drunken motorists who cause death of a person in an accident.