Pupil sues Kampala Parents School over kidnap

Kampala- A four-year-old pupil, who was kidnapped from Kampala Parents School in Naguru, Kampala, last year, has sued the school, demanding compensation of Shs3 billion.

Faith Emmanuel Poni was last year allegedly kidnapped by Ms Phiona Namubiru, a third year student of Makerere University, and Ms Annete Kirabo Namusoke, a teacher at Kampala Parents School.
In the case filed in the High Court on Monday, Ms Poni sued the school and Ms Daphine Kato, the principal administrator and Ms Kirabo. She is suing through Brian Kasajja, who is described as her “next of friend”.
She accuses the school of failing to provide adequate supervision and surveillance on her employees and failing to have a clear security system on child safety, which led to her kidnap.

Teacher sued
Poni also accuses her teacher, Ms Kirabo, who was her immediate caretaker, of failing to verify whether Namubiru was the true auntie as she claimed, before handing her over to the alleged kidnapper.

“The father and mother were duly registered as the sole persons with authority to pick Poni and her three other siblings from school since they joined in 2016,” reads part of the suit.

Poni contends that as a result of the negligence of the defendants, she was held in captivity for four days under torture and abuse.

“The plaintiff shall contend that she was admitted to Case Clinic for two days and diagnosed with severe malaria, typhoid and blood infections with mild painful rushes all over her body and some contusions,” the suit reads in part.

She claims that as a result of the defendant’s servants and agents’ actions, she suffered humiliation, pain, separation anxiety, mental anguish and inconveniences of changing schools, diplomatic embarrassment to her and the family.

She says her father, Mr Emmanuel Daud, the South Sudan Ambassador to Uganda, spent four days without sleep due to anxiety, which affected his work and life to-date.
Poni wants court to ban the school from offering education services for 10 years and be paid general damages and costs of the suit.