15 firms conned of Shs4 billion

The Police are hunting for three directors of a real estate company who allegedly obtained goods and services worth Shs4 billion by false pretence from at least 15 local companies.

Detectives have also secured court criminal summonses for the trio. John Muganga Ssekyewa, Sarah Kayondo and Joseph Ssempeera, are said to be directors of Shumkho Construction Company.

The Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman, Mr Ibin Ssenkumbi, said the suspects are believed to be hiding in Tanzania or Uganda.

“Mr Muganga, who is the prime suspect, was taken to court, remanded but later he was given bail. He has since disappeared,” Mr Ssenkumbi said. He said Mr Muganga is also wanted on another 12 similar cases.

The suspects were last seen at Mutukula near the Uganda-Tanzania border this week.
It is alleged that the three directors opened a real estate firm last year and contacted local companies to supply them goods, promising to pay them later. The real estate firm reportedly issued local purchasing orders but never paid.

Some of the affected companies include Ajit Motors, which is demanding at least Shs150 million for supply of six vehicles, Khalid Motors (Shs162 million) for another six motor vehicles and Seroma Limited (Shs197 million) for supply of 6,000 bags of cement and 4,000 iron sheets.

Other companies are Ebenezer that supplied aggregate stones to the said real estate firm. Interestingly, the real estate firm is still running adverts on radio stations and on billboards in the city centre.

Police investigations show that the real estate’s directors have reportedly ever opened companies dealing in the same business before and duped well established companies.

“They established a company called Tigo Uganda Limited in 2010 in the names of Sarah Kayondo and Muganga Ssekyewa. Later on after allegedly duping several people, they disappeared. In 2011, they opened another company called Zimmwe and Saca in the names of Zimmwe John Muganga,” Mr Ssenkumbi said.

Last year, they opened Shumkho Construction Company, which is also subject to police investigations, police said.