The Police Spokesperson, ACP Kituuma Rusoke, has threatened to charge parents of missing children over negligence following the increase of child kidnapping cases in Kampala.
Rusoke issued these statements during the weekly media briefing on September 30, 2024, at Naguru.
This was after several police reports indicated most of the child kidnaps were attributed to negligence by their parents and caregivers.
According to Rusoke, the safety of a child primarily lies in the hands of parents, and there is no reason a child should find her way out of the hands of the mother into that of a person of any kind.
“These are reckless and negligent parents; if you are out there and it has not yet happened to you, please take lessons,” he cautioned.
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Police reported that on September 26, 2024, at around 10:00am in Masaka, at Down City Building, Farouk, a porter in the building, persuaded a 3-year-old juvenile named Preson with UGX 500 to go with him to buy a soda without the knowledge of the mother before disappearing.
Similarly, in Bushenyi, police recorded a kidnapping of 7-year-old Ntungo after her mother, Adrian Kyalimpa, sent her to a nearby trading center approximately four meters away from their home to purchase cooking oil on September 26, 2024, at around 7:00 p.m. in the Rugoma cell of the Ishaka division in Bushenyi municipality when her parents waited for her return in vain.
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After investigations, Rusoke said that the reports indicated that the mother of the kidnapped child was involved in the triangle of communication with the suspect, rendering her liable as one of the suspects leading to her apprehension in custody by police.
He emphasized that sending a 7-year-old in the dark of the night to go and buy cooking oil in a trading center exposes the child to a number of risks, including sexual exploitation and kidnaps.
Rusoke added that the police should start charging such parents because they exhibit the signs of reckless behavior and put the lives of these juveniles into unnecessary risk.
“It is after all this negligence that the police have to struggle to unpack and undo all this mess,“ he said.
Read Also: CHILD KIDNAPS: Police Tips Parents on Security of Children
The Uganda Police has assured the public of their commitment to ensuring safety and called for emphasis on vigilance and cooperation in order to ensure a crime-free environment that benefits citizens for the betterment of the country.
