Daphine Namanya, a first-year law student at Uganda Christian University, Kampala Campus, who was reportedly kidnapped from Nayanga Triangular Zone in Rubaga Division on March 23, lost shs1.3m tuition fees to thugs after she was found at a house in the suburbs of Rubaga.
In an interview with The UCU Standard Weekly Newsletter, Namanya said that she had gone to a CentePoint (Centenary Bank ATM) in Rubaga to withdraw money for her tuition and deposit it in either Stanbic Bank or KCB Bank as the university had instructed when she was kidnaped.
“I went to the accounts office to pick up bank slips when I was informed that I cannot pay tuition in Centenary Bank. I was instructed to pay in Stanbic Bank or KCB Bank. That is when I went to the Cente Point to withdraw the money and take it to Stanbic since I could not use my ATM to pay directly either. After withdrawing the money, (Shs1.3 million) I got on a bodaboda and that is the last thing I remember,” she said.
A few hours later, when she regained consciousness, she noticed she was near Rubaga Miracle Centr Cathedral on Mutesa Road, Kampala, and the money she had withdrawn had been taken from her.
“Confused, I entered the church and sat there for hours until I was informed that they wanted to close. I walked out and sat at the stairs where I met a lady called Prisca. I asked her for a place to stay for the night and she was kind enough to accommodate me for the night. This is where I have been staying since, until the police tracked my phone and found me,” Namanya said.
She added that she was aware of the fact that the parents were looking for her but she was hiding because she did not know how to face the parents with the news of losing the tuition.
Namanya added that prior to the kidnap the only person she informed of her movements was her roommate, Leticia Asisiwe. They had earlier communicated on phone regarding her movements of the day, and her intentions to withdraw money.
The Director of Student Affairs, Mrs Olive Ayo Birabi, said that the Kampala Campus administration later learnt that there were rumours about the two roommates not getting along well in the days subsequent to the event. Asisiwe was arrested by Rubaga Police in regard to the matter, and was released on March 27.
This incident follows a temporary directive for students not to deposit tuition in Centenary Bank, by the university.
“There was a temporary system mismatch between Centenary Bank and UCU systems, where the bank system refused to interface with our system causing a backlog on some students’ payment information. But it has been clarified and now students can use Centenary again,” Mrs Christine Nakabugo Kyeyune, an accountant in the UCU finance office, explained.
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