Senior Reporter
Security officials in Kisoro District have successfully rescued 10-year-old Irankunda John Mary, a student at Kanyacucu Primary School in Nyarubuye Sub County, who had been abducted two weeks ago.
The young boy had been kidnapped by Hakiza, a Congolese shepherd who had been hired to take care of the family’s livestock. Irankunda is the son of Nizyimana Moses Bakuzi, who resides in Nyarubuye Sub County.
Robert Tukamuhebwa, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner (DRDC) of Kisoro, announced the child’s safe recovery, revealing that he was found Monday morning after spending two weeks in Rutshuru Territory in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Tukamuhebwa disclosed that a 28-year-old Congolese national named Jules Mbonigaba returned the victim and was subsequently arrested by Ugandan security authorities on kidnapping charges.
Tukamuhebwa explained that Mbonigaba was apprehended while trying to withdraw the remaining ransom money from his phone and is currently in custody at Kisoro Central Police Station. The victim’s family had agreed to pay a ransom of 2 million Shillings to the kidnappers.
The DRDC emphasized that a larger group is suspected to be involved in the kidnapping, but Mbonigaba, the individual arrested, was responsible for receiving the ransom money through his phone.
