“She is here with us and they are both fine,” the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Sabiiti Muzeeyi, confirmed to our reporters, last evening after the rescue of American tourist Kimberley Sue, 35, and tour driver Jean-Paul Mirenge. Sabiiti said the duo was rescued from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) yesterday.
They had been missing for five days after gunmen kidnapped them last Tuesday inside the National Park, in the western part of the country. The two were among other occupants aboard a van that was taking them on a game drive. They had no armed escort. According to the Police, the other occupants who were left behind included an elderly couple; Martin Julius and his wife Barbel, who immediately called for rescue.
It is not clear why the tourists did not have any armed warden to escort them as is the expected routine. Last evening, Sabiiti explained that a joint security team comprising UPDF, the elite Special Forces Command (SFC), Police and the Joint Intelligence Task Team, conducted the rescue mission, ending the five-day anxiety among the public and the various stakeholders in the tourism sector. The rescue has calmed nerves, after the kidnap received global press attention.
Sabiiti noted that the duo would undergo medical examination to ascertain their health. However, reports indicated that they were not harmed.
“We got them this evening. We thank the public for the moral support,” Sabiiti, promising to avail rescue operation details later.
Independent sources revealed that the rescue team included SFC boss Maj. Gen. Don Nabasa, Police director of counter terrorism Abas Byakagaba, Tourism Police boss Frank Mwesigwa, and Col. Jimmy Lutaaya of the air force.
Sources close to security have since revealed that the abductors yesterday received $30,000 (about sh112m) as ransom. It is not clear why they accepted that amount instead of the $500,000 (about sh1.8b) as earlier demanded.
“The courier of the cash package used motorcycles moving 60km into DRC to the rendezvous as ordered by the captors,” a source that chose anonymity said.
Security and government were by last evening tight-lipped on the ransom update. Both the Police and the US government last week doubted that such demands delivered through frequent telephone calls from the kidnapper would be fulfilled.
Mwesigwa earlier told our Website that they were using technical means to locate the cellphone that the kidnappers were using to communicate. Without divulging details, sources said the security agencies ‘elite squad’ rescue operation zones included paths commonly used by gold and cosmetics smugglers.
On Wednesday, Police deputy spokesperson, Polly Namaye, revealed that the search and rescue military team had cut off all exit areas on the border between Uganda and DRC in search of the victims, since the park is along the border.
Sources in the park confirmed the intensified search, with UPDF deploying the air force search team. Along the paths in the park, heavily armed UPDF foot soldiers have been patrolling the entire border in single file from Kanungu to Rukungiri districts. Roadblocks were also mounted on the main roads in the area.
Arguably the most visited park in Uganda, it covers an estimated 1,978 sq.km that stretch through the districts of Kasese, Kamwenge, Rubirizi and Rukungiri. The park is a six-hour drive from Kampala.