Old taxi park, a soft spot for kidnappers
A view of the Old Taxi Park. Three cases of kidnap have been linked to the park. FILE PHOTO
Kampala- The Old Taxi Park in Kampala City, which is supposed to be one of the safest places for passengers, has turned out to be a soft spot for kidnappers to target unsuspecting victims.
According to police investigations, three of the most recent kidnap cases were either carried out in the taxi park or the kidnappers used the crowded area to make calls demanding ransom.
The latest incident happened on Friday when suspected kidnappers targeted Ms Samusa Nakasujja, 20, who had been dropped at the park from Nakifuma, Mukono District in the evening.
Police say Ms Nakasujja was looking for a taxi to Zzana on Entebbe Road when suspected kidnappers lured her out of the park.
“The kidnappers seduced her and then used her mobile phone contact to call her relatives demanding a Shs10m ransom. The relatives informed the police that started tracking the suspects, who were hiding in Namayiba park in the city centre,” a statement by Kampala Metropolitan police reads in part.
The suspects abandoned the victim unconscious in Namayiba park in Kisenyi after the police encircled the place.
Ms Nakasujja told police after her rescue that the suspect directed her to a taxi that he said was travelling to Zzana and when she boarded, she could not recall anything until the time she was rescued.
In all the cases, the suspects appear to be targeting women looking for taxis in the evening during rush hours or late in the evening.
In the evening, there are few taxis operating within the Old Taxi Park and many taxis prefer to park outside the gazetted space.
Arrests
The Inspector General of Police, Mr Martins Okoth-Ochola, in a press briefing last week said three people were arrested in relation to the kidnap.
In another case that occurred recently, kidnappers are suspected to have lured Brinah Nalule, who had been dropped at the Old Taxi Park as she waited for a taxi, to Ben Kiwanuka Street where she was kidnapped and later killed after they demanded a ransom of Shs5m.
The deceased’s brother, Mr Yasser Kisuule, said during the phone negotiations, police officers were tracking the suspects and they discovered the suspect negotiator was at the taxi park.
“The police told us that the CCTV cameras only show the suspect dressed in red shirt and black trouser, but he was not with the victim. We do not know why the police officers did not arrest him,” Mr Kisuule said.
Police have CCTV cameras around the park on Burton, Luwum and Ben Kiwanuka streets. But it is not clear whether they are effective in capturing suspects’ faces.
Police declined to discuss the effectiveness of the capability of their cameras.
Charity Kyohirwe, 32, a resident of Masajja Parish in Makindye Division, Kampala City, was strangled to death by her kidnappers and thereafter demanded a ransom of Shs5m from her relatives. The relatives paid Shs3m, which they sent electronically.
