Gashumba Credits Women Protesters for ‘Sending Message to Kidnappers’

The founder of Sisimuka Uganda, an organization that champions socioeconomic empowerment, Frank Gashumba has applauded women activists under their group Women’s Protest Working Group for organising a city march against the rampant kidnappings and murder of women in the country.

Speaking during the procession in Kampala on Saturday morning in which he also participated, Mr Gashumba described the demonstration as “excellent” noting that it had informed the kidnappers that women are tired of their actions against them.

“For the start it is excellent, the organisers did a tremendous job. It has sent a clear message to the kidnappers and murderers that their actions must stop. No more kidnappings after this march,” Mr Gashumba said.

The procession has been conducted at a time when the country is grappling with several case of kidnappings leading into murder of women and children since February this year.

Activists have demanded immediate government intervention and that they intend to petition Parliament in the next couple of days over the issue.

Tricia Twasima, one of the group members, read out the names of 42 women and girls who have been kidnapped and murdered since last year and led the demonstrators into a moment of silence.

She further said that their procession is awake up call to Police to invest in investigating cases of women murders, table the reports and reign on to the culprits.

“We realised that despite the fact that 42 women have been killed, police has not done enough to investigate and apprehend the perpetrators. They (Police) keep telling us that everything is fine yet we all know that they are not,” Ms Tusiima noted.

She added: “We have heard stories of illuminati and those of lovers killing each other, but we all know that this is a systematic issue that must fixed. So, we are here to demand that government conducts complete investigations and protect other Ugandans from losing their lives in a similar way.”

Notable among the victims of women and children kidnappings and murders since the start of this year are, 28 year old Susan Magara, a business woman, who was kidnapped and killed in February this year and, Brinah Nalule, a 22 year old YMCA student, who was murdered in May by kidnappers, who allegedly picked her from the old taxi park as she headed to school, pretending to be taxi operators.