Two suspected kidnappers of US tourist Sue Endicott, guide arrested- police
Suspected kidnappers of US tourist Kimbley Sue Endicott have been arrested. Endicott and a Ugandan tour guide Jean Paul Mirenge Remezo were kidnapped by four gunmen, who hijacked their safari vehicle from Queen Elizabeth National Park on April 2.
The gunmen had demanded a ransom of $500,000 (about Shs1.8b) using Ms Sue and Mirenge’s cell phones.
Police said the two were rescued from the Democratic Republic of Congo by a joint effort involving the Uganda police force, Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) and sister security agencies.
Reports indicate that the US military also provided support to Ugandan security forces to accomplish the mission. The support included intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets and liaison officers, according to US news outlets.
Ms Sue was handed over to the US Embassy in Kampala by Inspector General of Police Martin Okoth Ochola on Monday.
Two of the four gunmen have reportedly been apprehended. The two were only identified as Hakim and Kwarishiima. Sources said the suspects were flown from Kanungu District in western Uganda where they were tracked using a device which was placed in the ransom money they received before setting Ms Sue and Mirenge free.
"The joint security team actively investigating the kidnapping incident and successful recovery of an American tourist Ms. Kimberly Sue Endicott and a Senior Tour Guide, Jean Paul Mirenge- Remezo, has made some arrests of suspects, on suspicion of being involved in their kidnap," police tweeted on Tuesday.
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga confirmed to URN that there were some arrests made in regard to the kidnap. He, however, declined to divulge details.
"I can confirm that there were some arrests but I am yet to get details. I will brief you when I get the information," Enanga said.
US President Donald Trump on Monday tasked the Ugandan government to hunt the kidnappers and bring them to book.
“Uganda must find the kidnappers of the American tourist and guide before people will feel safe in going there. Bring them to justice openly and quickly,” President Trump tweeted.
The kidnap cast a shadow on Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of the most visited tourist attractions which is home to lions, hippos, crocodiles and various types of antelopes.
Credit: Daily Monitor Uganda
Umeme counter rallies large trading volumes in three days
Kampala. Following a growth in dividends by five times for 2018 to Shs40 per share from 2017’s Shs7.6 per share, foreign institutional investors are buying Umeme shares as others opt out.
The Umeme counter has grossed Shs8.68b in the past three days from a sale of 28 million shares.
This has been a generally rare occurrence on the Uganda Securities Exchange given the volume and amounts involved.
According to an industry source who asked not to be quoted because they are not authorised to speak officially on the matter, the trend is driven by institutional investors.
“These are institutional investors,” he said, adding: “The ones that are selling have held the Umeme shares for a while and at this point they have nothing to lose as the share price itself is not bad.”
For those who are buying the aggregated 28 million shares bought in the past three days would fetch a dividend of more than Shs1.12b, which is worth the investment in that short time.
In 2017, regulatory requirement chopped off Shs115b off its profits to close that year with only Shs35b.
In 2018 the company almost quadrupled its profits at Shs132b thus the accruing dividend.
Umeme has been recording some good growth, especially in customer numbers which have grown to 1.3 million customers as of close of December 2018.
The shift to prepaid metering for most of its customers has greatly improved Umeme’s revenue streams.
However, the company still faces challenges such as collecting outstanding debts from government, where arrears of power bills are increasingly becoming exorbitant.
In the last six months, Umeme connected at least some 46 new industrial customers that have greatly boosted its numbers.
Source: Daily Monitor
Uganda-DRC roadworks set to start
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has officially handed over crucial sites to Dott Services Ltd, a Ugandan construction firm, to commence the long-awaited surfacing of the 223km-road network in eastern DRC.
According to the statement released by the Works ministry last evening, the construction is expected to start this week.
The DRC roads to be constructed include Mpondwe/Kasindi- Beni (80km), Bunagana-Rutshuru-Goma road (89km) and Beni-Butembo Axis (54km).
The project is branded as the regional connectivity roads project, also known as DRC roads project.
The handover ceremonies, which took place in Beni and Goma in the North Kivu Province last Friday, were witnessed by two delegations from Uganda and DRC, including the leadership of the Dott Services.
The Ugandan delegation was led by the Works minister, Gen Katumba Wamala, while the DRC delegation was led by the Infrastructure minister, Mr Alexi Gisaro Muvunyi.
The handover of the sites came on the heels of a visit to the company’s Inland Custom Deports (ICD) at Namanve Industrial Park in Uganda last Wednesday by the steering committee of nine members composed of technical officials from DRC, Uganda and Dott Services Limited, which was set up to fast-track the project.
Gen Katumba appealed to Congo nationals to support the construction.
“Do not steal the road equipment. Do not touch the fuel and other essentials. This opportunity has come to you to benefit from it in a meaningful way. Please give all the support to the contractor and work with them to ensure that the project succeeds,” he said.
Gen Katumba also cautioned the construction company to be mindful of deadlines.
In his remarks, Mr Muvunyi revealed that the project would boast trade and employment for the two countries.
The North Kivu Governor, Lt Gen Ndima Kongba Constant, said: “When the contractor is hungry, give him food. When he is thirsty, give him water, when he needs a room, give him a bed to sleep on. This is because they have come to not only to build roads but also to improve our livelihoods.”
So far, Dott Services Limited has assembled 40 trucks, 22 rollers, 22 graders, and 22 excavators and 20 fabricated containers to cover office space and residences for the company staff.
The company has also promised to move this equipment to the designated sites in DRC this week.
Background
In May, Uganda and DRC signed two agreements aimed at enhancing bilateral trade as well as strengthen infrastructural development.
The agreements followed the state visit to Uganda by DRC president Felix Antionè Tshisekedi from November 9 to 10, 2019. The presidents emphasised the importance of developing cross-border infrastructure which is essential to facilitate bilateral trade.
Despite the lucrative business opportunities between the two countries, trade in the past has been hampered by poor road network.
The roadworks come barely a week after Uganda’s army launched airstrikes into bases habouring rebels of the ADF in eastern DRC.
Credit: Daily Monitor
