By Emmanuel Nduka
Festo Ivaibi, Founder of Mitroplus Labs—a Ugandan crypto education hub, was allegedly abducted on May 17 near his home on Bunamwaya Road in Kampala.
Armed assailants dressed in military uniforms and claiming to be operatives of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) allegedly forced Ivaibi to transfer $500,000 worth of cryptocurrency to a wallet under their control.
According to a formal statement released by Mitroplus Labs via its Afro Token Project account on X, the attackers coerced Ivaibi into unlocking crypto wallets and selling a portion of Afro Token, a meme coin created on the SunPump platform on the Tron blockchain.
Some of the funds were reportedly sent to a Binance wallet, though the exact currencies involved remain unconfirmed.
“This is not just an attack on one person, it’s an attack on a growing vision,” the project stated.
Following the incident, Afro Token’s value dropped by approximately 16.7%, with its market cap declining from over $7.3 million in December 2024 to around $1.6 million, according to DEX Screener data.
Mitroplus Labs has alleged that this incident is part of a wider pattern of targeted attacks involving informants posing as crypto traders, rogue elements within law enforcement, and two Chinese nationals.
The firm claims to have identified at least 48 similar incidents, many of which have reportedly been dismissed due to the influence of the perpetrators’ network.
Such physical attacks on crypto holders often referred to as “wrench attacks”, are on the rise.
Earlier this year, Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped and mutilated during a ransom attempt, while in February, a crypto broker broke his ankles trying to escape his captors.
