Ugandan military captures tourist kidnapping suspect hiding for six years

Uganda said on Monday it had captured a key suspect in the 2019 armed kidnapping of a US tourist and her driver in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Kimberly Sue Endicott and her Ugandan driver were abducted on April 2, 2019, by armed men who later demanded a ransom of $500,000.

They were released four days later following negotiations involving Ugandan and US officials. It was not revealed if the ransom was paid.

"The joint security forces finally got the key suspect, Derrick Memory, who has been on the run since 2019," military spokesman Major Kiconco Tabaro told AFP news agency.

Major breakthrough

Memory had been hiding in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo "where he was involved in other criminal activities", Tabaro said.

Uganda had been tracking the suspect and arrested him in the western district of Kanungu on May 4, he added.

"This is a major breakthrough," Tabaro said, adding that the authorities were determined "to assure tourists and the public that Uganda is safe and those who plan to destabilise our country will be got and firmly dealt with".

Police arrested another suspect, Onesmus Byaruhanga, then 43, during the initial investigation in 2019 for allegedly helping the kidnappers. He currently faces charges of kidnapping and aggravated robbery.