Uganda police have warned parents about the child kidnaps that are currently on the rise both in Kampala and Greater Masaka and urged them to be vigilant.

ACP Kituuma Rusoke, the police spokesperson, said while addressing journalists at the police headquarters in Naguru, Kampala, on July 15, 2024, that several children are being kidnapped for sacrifice.

ACP Rusoke highlighted a case of a maid in Bunamwaya Kanjjasi who kidnapped a child, but the police managed to rescue him on Friday.

“Today, I wish to begin with a statement on kidnaps and ritual murders. There are two scenarios. There was one case where a child was abducted in Bunamwaya, Kanjjansi. The juvenile was a one and a half-year-old by the name of Lucas Sserwada, who was kidnapped by a maid by the name of Nacy Japrosi,“ Rusoke said.

According to Rusoke, the maid is said to have lived with the victim’s family for two weeks when the parents reported the case of a missing child, and the police swung into action, which led to the recovery of the child in Mayuge alive.

“We want to thank our officers of the Flying Squad Unit and the Territorial Police of Kajjansi for the recovery of the juvenile and settling the hearts of the parents,” he said.

He revealed a similar incident where the police arrested suspects in the murder of two juveniles in Mateete, Ssembabule, on June 10, 2024. He added that within three weeks, another juvenile identified as Andrew Junju, a six-year-old from the same area, got lost as he was coming from St. Herman Kasana Primary School.

“A juvenile by the name of Asimwe Julius went missing from home. The parents said the child went missing when they were watching TV at around 8 p.m. On July 8, 2024, we apprehended eight suspects and recovered the remains of two juveniles,” he noted.

In the wake of these instances, the police shared tips and precautions for the security of children.

Rusoke urged parents to take a keen interest in the workers they hire in their homes and to always hire those that are sourced from credible sources.

“One of the biggest challenges we are having today is that homes hire anyone as long as he or she says they can work and do chores at home. These people have origins and backgrounds, some of which are criminal in nature. So we urge people to pay keen attention to the people whom they hire,” Rusoke said.

Police urged the public to ensure that they have police contacts, particularly the contacts of the nearest police in their area of residence, saying that it helps security to make quick responses whenever an emergency arises.

Rusoke thanked the good response of the police to the incident that led to the rescue of the juvenile before he was harmed. He further urged the children to move in groups and parents to collect children from school by themselves or, rather, make use of adults.

“There are certain critical safety procedures that can be followed. Now, for instance, the child who disappeared while coming from school was moving alone. What I recall from my personal experience as a child coming from school is that we used to move in groups. We always urge people to teach children how to use routes that are not isolated,” he noted.