APAC, Uganda – September 8, 2025 – A 32-year-old businesswoman is recovering at Apac Central Police Station (CPS) after a harrowing two-day ordeal, during which she was abducted and held for a six-million-shilling ransom before managing a daring escape.
The victim, Nankebe Susan, a bar operator and resident of Nabiswera Trading Centre in Nakasongola District, was reportedly seized on Saturday, September 6, 2025. According to a statement from the North Kyoga Regional Police, the abduction occurred in Rwabiata village as Nankebe was walking home from a service at Nalukonge SDA Church.
“Two men driving a motor vehicle, whose registration number she could not identify, found her on her way, grabbed her, and forced her into the car,” said SP Patrick Jimmy Okema, the Public Relations Officer for the North Kyoga Region.
Inside the vehicle, Nankebe discovered two other women with their faces covered. Before a blindfold was tied over her own eyes, she spotted a pistol on the front passenger seat, confirming her fears of a violent kidnapping.
She was transported to an unknown location and held captive in a house with five other women, all alleged victims of the same kidnapping ring. The abductors, she reported, confiscated all their phones and used them to extort money from the victims' families.
“For her case, the kidnappers were demanding six million shillings for her release,” SP Okema stated.
The captives were deprived of food but, according to the police report, were not physically beaten or mistreated beyond their confinement.
Nankebe’s opportunity for freedom came on the morning of Monday, September 8. While being taken outside to bathe, she saw her chance and fled, still barely dressed.
“She ran on a lesu (half-dressed) and kept on asking for the nearest police station until she found herself at Apac CPS,” Okema explained.
Upon her arrival, a statement of abduction was officially registered. Police confirmed she is currently in safe custody as arrangements are made to reunite her with her family in Nakasongola.
SP Okema used the incident to issue a stern warning about a disturbing new trend in criminal activity. “Of late, this has become a common method people are using as a means for survival. We call for vigilance and timely reporting of such incidents so that we can apprehend these culprits,” he said.
The police have launched an investigation to locate the kidnappers' hideout and identify and rescue the remaining five women believed to still be in captivity.
