Maritime woman pleads for help after husband goes missing in Uganda

Maritime woman’s search for missing husband A Maritime woman, originally from Congo, is seeking information after her husband’s disappearance over a month ago. Heidi Petracek reports.

HALIFAX — A Maritime woman, originally from Congo, is desperately seeking information after her husband vanished over a month ago. Begging for assistance from the federal government, she and her three children are experiencing yet another heartache after already enduring so much.

"I'm not sleeping, I'm not eating," says Assinath Mohindu, who is worried sick for her husband after not hearing from him in over a month.

Mohindu's husband, 34-year-old Etienne Basenge Namenye, hasn't been heard from since December 5.

Namenye was on a trip to help his ill mother, who lives in a refugee camp in Uganda, a country in a state of political unrest as presidential elections loom.

When Mohindu's repeated attempts to reach her husband failed, she knew something was wrong and pressed Ugandan authorities for answers.

"Now I have some information showing that he was kidnapped from the hotel by someone unknown and taken to another country," says Mohindu. "The country he was taken in was Rwanda."

The news is a difficult revelation for Mohindu's family – which has already been through a lot.

Originally from Congo, Namenye and Mohindu lived in a refugee camp in Rwanda before coming to Canada eight years ago to live as permanent residents.

In 2017, a devastating fire destroyed their home in Dartmouth, leaving Namenye with serious burns he suffered while helping his family escape and survive.

In 2019, the family moved to Saint John, where they are currently dealing with this latest crisis.

A spokesperson with Global Affairs Canada says the department is aware of a person reported missing in Uganda and is working with local authorities to gather information. The spokesperson would not say much else, citing privacy concerns.

Family friend Alphonse Mutangoma first got to know Namenye and his family while they were living in Halifax. Originally from Uganda, he has been trying to help get information.

"It is a difficult country," says Mutangoma. "I hope that he is found alive, still living, because he has young children, and he has to help grow those children."

Meanwhile, the only thing Namenye's worried wife can do is wait and hope.

"For me, I can't do anything but ask our government, please, can they help," says Mohindu.