Police and UPDF have dispatched teams to Queen Elizabeth National Park where a search in on for an American tourist and Ugandan guide are reported kidnapped.
The two were grabbed, after armed men put four tourists on gun point on Tuesday. The rest of tourists were rescued.
Police, Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) in a joint statement said on Wednesday that the two were kidnapped near Katoke Gate in the Queen Elizabeth National Park between 5pm and 7pm after their car was ambushed by the four armed men.
“On April 2, 2019, between 5pm and 7pm, four armed men ambushed a tourist van that was on a Game Drive in the Queen Elizabeth National Park. The outlaws put the occupants under gun point and abducted two of them; a Ugandan driver and an American Citizen. The kidnapping happened between near Katoke Gate in the Queen Elizabeth National Park. The other occupants of the van who were left behind and managed to contact a few people; who came to their rescue,” the statement reads in part.
Police say all security agencies including army and wardens from UWA have joined in the hunt for the outlaws “with the main aim of safely securing the hostages.”
“The lives of the kidnapped are a key priority during this process. We appeal for calm as we find a lasting solution to this issue. Further information will be shared with the public as it comes in,” the statement adds.
The kidnappers have demanded a ransom of $500,000 (Shs1.9b), police said Wednesday as they launched a hunt for the perpetrators.
“The kidnappers, using the victim’s phone, have demanded $500,000. We strongly believe this ransom is the reason behind the kidnap,” said a statement from deputy police spokeswoman Polly Namaye.
The kidnapped tourist was identified as Kimberley Sue Endecott, a 35-year-old US citizen and one Jean Paul, a tour guide and driver attached to World Frontiers Safaris Uganda.
Ms Namaye said the gunmen waylaid a vehicle registration number UAE 777E which was carrying four tourists and varnished with two of them. They also went with the car keys, leaving the other two tourists stranded. The two were identified as Martin Julius and his wife Barbel.
The kidnap comes at the time when army and police have just intensified security operations at the Kanungu border of Ishasha following the kidnap of six Ugandans including a 12-year-old child.
