KASANGATI, Uganda, (UGNEWSLINE) — A search for a missing two-year-old girl in a neighbourhood north of Kampala took a grim turn when a note demanding Shs10 million l was discovered at her family’s gate, before investigators traced her body to a maize plantation in Kyetume, Gayaza, police said.
The disappearance of Dartiva Rosaries Kyomuhendo was reported by her mother, Lillian Atukwatse, on October 27, after the child went missing while playing with other children in the neighbourhood, according to preliminary police findings.
The following morning, a ransom note demanding Shs 10 million was found at the family’s gate, turning the search into an investigation involving suspected kidnapping and murder.
Police have since arrested two suspects as investigators seek to establish the circumstances surrounding the child’s death and the alleged ransom demand.
“The child’s body was recovered from a maize plantation in Kyetume, Gayaza, after one of the suspects, Joshua Muhumuza, led investigators to the location,” Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan police deputy public relations officer, said in a statement dated October 29.
Police said Muhumuza, a pedicurist, had reportedly confessed to the crime and identified a second suspect, Florence Amusuguti, who has also been arrested.
Investigators said preliminary findings indicate that Muhumuza knew the child and her mother and had previously worked for the mother as a pedicurist.
His residence was separated from the family’s home by a perimeter wall, police said.
A mobile phone was recovered from Muhumuza and is being examined as part of inquiries into its alleged use in making ransom demands. Police have not disclosed further details about the phone or the evidence linking the second suspect to the crime.
The child’s body was taken to Mulago City Mortuary for a post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death, according to police.
The investigation remains ongoing, and police said the suspects would be processed in accordance with the law.
Police extended their condolences to the bereaved family.
The circumstances of the child’s death, the motive behind the alleged ransom demand and the precise roles of the two suspects remain subject to investigation.
