Police in Mukono district have arrested six suspects to help investigate the kidnapping and murder of a five-year-old girl.
Last week, Hope Biyinzika disappeared mysteriously after returning home from Skylac Junior School in Namaliri trading centre, Kasawo sub-county. According to her father Vincent Kikomba, no one was home when she arrived and changed out of her uniform.
When Hope could not be found later, her family notified neighbors and filed a missing person’s report with police. The next day, an unknown male called Kikomba demanding a Shs5 million ransom. After negotiations, the amount was reduced to Shs2.6 million.
The community helped raise Shs1 million, which was sent. However, the kidnappers gave three days to pay the remaining Shs1.6 million or the child would be killed. When contact was lost after the deadline, Hope’s decomposing body was discovered in a neighbor’s pit latrine on Friday.
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga said investigations show Hope was abducted when alone after school. The ransom calls and recovery of her body confirm it was a kidnapping that turned tragic. Teams exhumed the body and documented another crime scene in a nearby sorghum garden, suspected as the place of murder.
“This is an unfortunate incident targeting an innocent child,” said Enanga. Six suspects have been arrested – Fred Kayemba, Walugembe Fred, Allan Ssenkuba, Ben Kiyingi, Emmanuel Katongole and Fatuma Nansubuga. The suspected mastermind remains at large. Police are working to bring all perpetrators to justice.