The kidnappers held her captive for nearly three weeks, demanding up to $1 million before accepting about $200,000 (approximately UGX 700 million). During her captivity, they cut off two of her fingers and sent them alongside a video of her pleading for help to pressure her family into paying the ransom.
Akena referred to historical statements by President Museveni acknowledging the destruction of food supplies and the destitution of about 2.7 million people during that period. He argued that the loss of cattle deprived communities of daily nutrition, household income, school fees, draft power, and soil fertility, leaving effects that continue to be felt today.
According to Lulume Bayiga, the Executive Chairperson of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) party, since November 2020, and continuing throughout the 2026 electoral cycle, the JDP has recorded an ongoing pattern of state-linked abductions where some security agents in plain clothes or military attire, driving unmarked minibuses, have seized opposition supporters, campaign organizers, polling agents, and civic activists from streets and homes.