KAMPALA
Baba Television journalist Jengo Eria has reportedly gone missing after he left the station in Ntinda, Kampala, on Thursday morning to buy snacks.
According to the station management, Eria walked out of the newsroom at about 10:00am on September 10 and did not return.
His colleagues became suspicious at about 8:00pm after discovering that his belongings were still unattended on his desk, prompting a search for him.
The station said CCTV footage captured Eria leaving its premises.
However, witnesses reportedly told the station that Eria was allegedly intercepted by two armed men dressed in plain clothes and forced into a waiting drone vehicle.
“The people outside the station premises said there were two waiting vehicles, a Mark II with a woman inside, and a drone motor vehicle. He was forced into a drone car and driven away,” a source said.
The whereabouts of Eria remained unknown by Friday, with his family and colleagues reportedly unable to establish where he was or whether he had been taken into custody.
The station said attempts to trace him through security agencies had also not yielded information about his whereabouts.
Eria also runs PJ Facts, a YouTube channel that mainly publishes security-related reports, including coverage of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Uganda Police Force and Special Forces Command (SFC).
His reported disappearance has triggered concern among journalists over the safety of media practitioners, particularly those reporting on security and other sensitive matters.
The circumstances surrounding Eria’s disappearance remained unclear by press time.
Efforts to establish his whereabouts and independently verify the reported abduction were ongoing. When Parrots Media searched on his Channel on Friday at 9:38PM, it was established that the last Video was published about five (5) hours ago on the same day.
