Police in Kasese on Thursday 4, 2019 arrested over 40 Rwandan nationals in Queen Elizabeth National Park at a border point of Kasese and Rubirizi districts.
According to local website nilepost.co.ug, Police said they were trying to cross to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Majority of those arrested were men although some women and children under the age of five were part of the group.
“The Rwandans are said to have been travelling in three mini buses registration numbers UBD 338V, UBA 841D, and UBE 325P. Some did not have clear travel documents, raising suspicion,” the website revealed.
The ‘suspects’ are currently detained at Kasese Central Police Station.
The development follows the kidnap of Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo, a senior tour guide with Wild Frontiers Uganda and Kimberly Sue Endecott, a 35-year-old American tourist on Tuesday in the same park.
On Wednesday, security agencies called for calm as they assured the country that they were doing everything possible to ensure that they rescue the victims.
The kidnappers, using Endecott’s phone demanded USD500000 (Shs1.8billion).
“We want to inform the public and all visitors in the country that the Joint security teams have cut off all exit areas on the border between Uganda and the DR Congo in search of the victims since the park along the border. We strongly believe the perpetrators and victims are still trapped within our search area and we are hopeful that our efforts will lead to their successful recovery,” deputy police spokesperson Polly Namaye said.
According to a joint statement by Uganda Tourism Board, the Police and UWA, four armed men ambushed a tourist van Wild Frontiers Uganda registration number UAR 777E that was carrying Mirenge and the three tourists near Katoke gate in Queen Elizabeth National Park on Tuesday evening.
“The outlaws put the occupants under gun point and abducted two of them; a Ugandan driver and an American Citizen. The other occupants of the van who were left behind managed to contact a few people who came to their rescue,” the statement signed by UTB’s Sandra Natukunda and Bashir Hangi of UWA reads in part.
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