By Evelyn Matsamura Kiapi
Kampala — In the wee hours of one Saturday morning, Mary Serumaga was woken up by a disturbing phone call. Her younger brother Robert Kalundi Serumaga had just been abducted by four unknown gun-wielding men the previous night.
He had been dragged by the belt and kicked. They even tried to undress him. They hit him to the ground until he fell unconscious. He was then whisked off into the night in the trunk of a Toyota saloon car.
For Mary, this sounded more like a scene from a movie rather than real life. And what could have Robert done that was so bad that he had to be treated that way, she asked herself. For all she knew, her brother is neither a politician nor criminal, but rather a writer, broadcaster and filmmaker. Mary was helpless.
“My first reaction was to pray for Divine Mercy. After that I was confident my brother would be delivered,” Mary told IPS in an interview.
Journalist Robert Kalundi Serumaga was abducted on the night of September 11, after leaving a weekly television talk-show, Kibazo on Friday on Wava Broadcasting Service (WBS TV). His partner Mary Ibazo, two fellow panellists and show host Peter Kibazo witnessed the abduction.
The show had discussed the then on-going stand-off between the Ugandan government and the largest ethnic group, the Kingdom of Buganda which culminated into city riots that saw tens of people lose their lives and property worth 40,000 dollars were destroyed.
Serumaga, who allegedly belittled President Yoweri Museveni on the show that evening, blaming him for the riots, was detained at unknown locations in Kampala city over the night of Friday and Saturday morning. It was until his family raised concern over his whereabouts that Serumaga was later brought to the Central Police Station. He told his family he had been beaten, tortured and threats made to his life.
The trend of events has created a fresh round of fear for the future of press freedom in Uganda. Four radio stations have since been closed down, accused of fanning the riots and inciting violence.