The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The father of Susan Magara, a Bwendeiro Diary Cashier who was kidnapped and murdered five years ago, has given harrowing testimony before the High Court in Kampala. He revealed that he paid a US$200,000 ransom to kidnappers in a desperate attempt to save his daughter’s life but his efforts were in vain.
John Fitz Gerald Magara, a 58-year-old businessman based in Hoima and Kampala, appeared as a prosecution witness in a case involving nine individuals charged with kidnapping for ransom and murder of his daughter. The events in question occurred on February 28, 2018. The suspects are Abas Buvumbo, Yusuf Lubega, Hussein Wasswa, Muzamiru Ssali, Hassan Kato Miiro, Hajara Nakandi, Abubaker Kyewolwa, Mahad Kasalita, and Ismail Buckeye.
Magara expressed concerns about his safety and the security of his family, requesting that his current place of residence and image not be disclosed in the media due to potential security threats. He recounted how, upon learning of his daughter’s kidnapping on February 7, 2018, he immediately traveled from Hoima to Kampala. The kidnapper, who spoke in Runyoro, demanded a ransom of US$1 million and claimed to have his daughter.
Over several days of negotiations, the kidnappers refused the family’s offer of Shillings 100 million ransom and agreed only to a discounted sum of US$50,000. To secure her release, Susan Magara personally spoke to her mother, pleading for the ransom money.
A settlement was reached, with the family agreeing to pay US$200,000. The kidnappers instructed John Magara to drive his wife’s car along Masaka Road to make the drop. The police were alerted to the instructions. When they reached Mpigi, the kidnapper told Magara to pick up a phone from the “Welcome to Mpigi” signpost, where further instructions would be given. However, the police intervened, and the mission was called off.
On February 17, 2018, the kidnapper made another call, instructing John Magara to take Bombo Road up to Mattuga, where he would receive further directions on where to drop the ransom. As he was being given instructions to retrieve another phone from a school signpost, the police officer in the back seat of his car intervened, leading to the mission’s cancellation.
Two days later, around 3 p.m., the kidnapper contacted John Magara and directed him to go to Hass Petro Station in Namasuba along Entebbe Road to retrieve a message or package from their daughter, Susan Magara. The kidnapper instructed John Magara’s sister, Flora Magara to drop the money in Busabala. The family, this time, chose not to involve the police, thinking it would solve the issue.
They successfully delivered US$200,000 as instructed. John Magara waited in anticipation of Susan’s return, but his hopes were shattered. On February 28, 2018, he received a call from President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, instructing him to go and identify a body with two missing fingers. He went to the scene in Kigo, along the Entebbe-Express Highway, and tragically identified his daughter’s lifeless body. Susan Magara was subsequently laid to rest on March 1, 2018, in Hoima.
During the trial, audio clips were played in court, revealing conversations between the kidnapper, Susan Magara’s mother, and John Magara. In these clips, the kidnapper asked the parents if they loved their daughter and warned that something would be done to Susan Magara if the ransom was not paid, stirring emotions among the court attendees.
The background
The case centers around an alleged kidnap-for-ransom scheme devised by the accused individuals, some of whom remain at large. Susan Magara was the unfortunate first victim of this scheme. The prosecution contends that she was abducted in Lungujja and held captive for three weeks while the kidnappers negotiated a US$1 million ransom with her family.
After receiving US$200,000 of the ransom money, the prosecution alleges that the kidnappers murdered Susan Magara and disposed of her body in Kitiko. The investigation revealed that Magara had overheard conversations between Hajara Nakandi’s visitors while in captivity, prompting the kidnappers to decide her fate in a meeting at Usafi Mosque.
They feared that her release would lead to their identification and arrest. Consequently, they decided to suffocate her with a polythene bag to prevent her from revealing their identities.
The prime suspect, Patrick Kasaija alias Agaba alias Pato, was previously charged separately for the kidnap of Joan Cora Alupo but had the charges dropped for lack of sufficient evidence. Nine individuals remain on trial in the Susan Magara case.
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