Uganda police arrest 8 suspects in U.S. tourist, driver kidnapping

April 9 (UPI) – Police arrested eight suspects in the armed kidnapping of a U.S. tourist and her safari driver at a Uganda wilderness park last week. Uganga police spokesman Fred Enanga told CNN that eight suspects were arrested in connection with the kidnapping of Kimberly Sue Endicott and her driver, Jean Paul Mirenge, with the help of a joint task force consisting of Uganda security services and U.S. military representatives. "These suspects have strong [links] to kidnapping tourists," Enanga told CNN. "This is something they had been planning on doing – to kidnap tourists with [the] intention [of getting a] ransom." "These arrests have given us the identity of the prime suspect we are looking for," Enanga added.

Endicott and her driver were rescued Sunday, and were in good health and safe in the custody of a joint security team, after being abducted last week at Queen Elizabeth National Park. A Uganda Police Force senior commander told ABC News that authorities are still searching for more suspects in the area in addition to the eight arrests made in the Kanunga district Monday. The Uganda Tourism Board said that new safety measures have been put in place at the national parks.

"Through the Uganda Wildlife Authority and security agencies, new measures as well as strict guidelines to avoid similar incidents have been put in place," Uganda Tourism Board CEO Lilly Ajarova said in a statement Tuesday. "Security has been tightened in all national parks for tourists' safety. Tourists are encouraged to continue visiting the parks and to enjoy Uganda's wildlife abundance."

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2019/04/09/Uganda-police-arrest-8-suspects-in-US-tourist-driver-kidnapping/5391554826005/