A routine car-washing job allegedly turned into a kidnapping plot after a casual worker disappeared with a customer’s vehicle and used it to abduct a 10-year-old boy, police in Nansana have said. The suspect, identified as 20-year-old Benard Matovu, allegedly took a silver Subaru Impreza, registration number UA 229AR, after being asked to wash it at his workplace in Nansana East IIA at about 9 am over the weekend.
Instead of returning the vehicle, police say Matovu switched off his phones and drove to Senge in Wakiso Sub-County, where he allegedly abducted the boy from his family’s workshop. The child was later taken to Nsumbi village in Gganda, where Matovu allegedly joined forces with 30-year-old Christopher Ssemata, a boda boda rider, to hold him captive and demand Shs20 million from his family.
For the boy’s father, Rogers Ssegawa, the ordeal took an unexpected turn when the alleged kidnapper called him demanding the ransom. “He called me on the phone and said his name was Ben. After the arrest, I listened to the voice and realised it was his colleague,” Ssegawa said. The caller allegedly warned Ssegawa that his son would be killed if the family failed to pay the Shs20 million ransom and provided a bank account through which the money was to be sent.
Instead of paying, Ssegawa contacted the Nansana Division Police Commander and shared the number used to make the call, enabling detectives to begin tracking the suspect. Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Racheal Kawala said the tracking operation led detectives to Nsumbi, where the boy was rescued and the stolen vehicle recovered.
The two suspects have since been taken for scene reconstruction as investigators work to establish whether more people were involved in the kidnapping. Police also recovered two SIM cards and a motorcycle suspected to have been stolen. Kawala urged people to carry out background checks before employing casual workers, saying the case illustrates how criminals can exploit routine access to homes, businesses and property.“First, carry out due diligence before employing anyone. This one came as a casual labourer washing vehicles and ended up running away to commit a crime,” Kawala said. Investigators are also examining whether the suspects could be connected to another child kidnapping reported recently in Kampala.
A detective at Katwe Police Division said investigators were looking into possible links between the suspects and the kidnapping of a 15-year-old girl in Mutundwe about two weeks ago. The girl was reportedly abducted while playing with other children, although police have withheld further details at the request of her parents. The case is being handled by Natete Police.
The possibility of a link is being examined against a wider pattern in which police say people familiar with a victim’s home or routine have been implicated in ransom kidnappings. In December 2025, six-year-old Mpirwe Tumwesigye was abducted from Ddungu Zone in Kawempe Division by a shamba boy employed at his home. Police later traced the suspect through TikTok videos and rescued the child from Busukuma in Nansana Municipality.
In another case in July 2025, two-year-old Ivan Benti was abducted from Mengo by a salon cleaner and taken towards the Democratic Republic of Congo border before being rescued in a joint operation involving Crime Intelligence and the UPDF’s Operation Shujaa. Despite these incidents, police statistics show that ransom kidnappings declined from 245 cases in 2024 to 206 in 2025. Police say financial pressure, particularly the need to settle debts, remains one of the main motivations behind the crimes-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
