By KT Reporter
The dismissed American principal of Heritage International School in Kansanga has reportedly been abducted. Dr. Kymmberli Stowe, an American national, had filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Labour challenging her suspension and subsequent termination by the school in October this year. She claims her removal was retaliatory, following her decision to raise internal concerns regarding school governance and alleged corruption scandals.
Following her dismissal, Stowe filed several petitions with different government offices and also gave media interviews in which she exposed the abuse she reportedly suffered while working at Heritage International School. This, according to her associates, marked the beginning of further trouble. She was later arrested by police and detained at Jinja Road Police Station, where she was interrogated about her citizenship before being released.
On Thursday, Stowe, accompanied by her legal team, appeared before the Commissioner of Labour after responding to an earlier invitation for a mediation meeting with the school administration at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development. The meeting reportedly ended without a resolution.
According to her associates, after the inconclusive meeting, Stowe returned to her home in Kansanga, where she was allegedly picked up by armed men and detained at an unknown location. Suuna James, a close friend and human rights activist, condemned the operation as illegal, citing the absence of a police arrest warrant.
“They forced themselves into her house at around 6:00 pm and found her in the bathroom and took her. After we got the information, we rushed to Jinja Road police, but she wasn’t there. Then we were tipped off that she was detained at a certain safe house of some Ministry of Internal Affairs officials, which we suspect is at the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” Suuna said.Suuna alleges that Stowe’s former employer is behind her continued harassment and several attempts to have her deported from Uganda. He claims this is the second time she has been abducted from her residence.
“Dr Stowe has been detained since yesterday, can’t see her lawyers, she hasn’t eaten anything. All responsible officers are tactically out of office pointing to a foul play in this matter, remember School paid to them last time and they failed to deport her, the school has been pressurizing the officers who ate the money to execute the mission,” Suuna said.
In a statement released last month, Heritage International School said Dr. Kymmberli Stowe’s dismissal was due to her alleged failure to disclose a legal dispute with her previous employer, the American School of Benguerir in Morocco. The school further claimed that she falsely presented herself as having served as acting head of school, when in fact she was on leave.Reacting to the school’s position, Suuna questioned the justification for her dismissal and subsequent treatment.
“Is this the reason why the school illegally fired her via a WhatsApp message? Is it a crime to have a legal battle with any school? Was it required during the interview? Is it worse than them employing a director with a record of defiling a 15-year-old Canadian girl? Did it warrant abduction and bribing staff with 35m to help them deport her?” Suuna questioned.
He said it was shocking that government officials could allegedly connive to participate in what he described as an illegal attempt to deport someone who is in Uganda legally. However, Kampala Metropolitan Deputy Police Spokesperson, Luke Owoyesigyire, said police were not aware of Dr. Kymmberli Stowe’s alleged abduction.
Dr. Kymmberli Stowe’s lawyers were still searching for the exact detention facility where their client was being held and the charges, if any, being brought against her by the time of filing this story. Her friends and several human rights groups had also reportedly written formally to the U.S. Embassy regarding her disappearance.
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