Police stranded with Equity Bank theft investigation file

Mr Kaweesi said they are aware that suspects can’t be released when investigations are not complete. File photo

What you need to know:

  • The police file indicates that three people withdrew money to a tune of $1.45million (Shs4.2 billion ) from Equity Bank Oasis Mall Branch from an account owned by a South Sudanese national.
  • Katarambi has handled several prominent cases including the Mukono-Katosi road fraud and the murder of Police officer, ASP Joseph Bigirwa.

The Police Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) has hit a snag in investigations into the disappearance of Shs4.2 billion from Equity Bank.

The case in which the suspended commandant of the Special Investigations Division (SID) Charles Kataratambi and three junior officers are alleged to have recovered the money and stole it again has been under investigations since 2015.
The investigations originated from a presidential directive after James Mwangi the Equity Bank Chief Executive Officer met with President Museveni at State House Entebbe and reportedly complained about the disappearance of the recovered money.
Last week, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) returned the file to police with advice to include more evidence so as to be able to proceed with prosecution.
According to the police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi, the delay by the DPP to sanction the file is proof that the case has no merit.

Kaweesi said Kevin Kabanda, one of the suspects in the case was a special police Constable (SPC) who did not seek renewal of his contract and thus he has a right to work anywhere else.
Attempts to get a comment from DPP were futile as the spokesperson Jane Kajuga could not be reached on her known phone numbers.
The other junior officers have not reported for bond extension for more than nine months.
Kabanda, who moved with Kataratambi from Flying Squad has long escaped from the police and is believed to be in Rwanda.
A reliable source at CID told this reporter that Kabanda was last seen in Kigali Rwanda where he is running a business.
The vehicles and other expensive items recovered from the homes of the police officers are still in police custody at CID headquarters in Kibuli and others at different police stations.
The properties are believed to have been bought using the stolen exhibit money.

The case was reportedly mishandled and exhibit money amounting to $450,000 disappeared from the police at Jinja Road Police Station.
The police file indicates that three people withdrew money to a tune of $1.45million (Shs4.2 billion ) from Equity Bank Oasis Mall Branch from an account owned by a South Sudanese national.
Moses Ebitu, the Operations Manager Equity Bank reported a case of fraud indicating that the money was fraudulently withdrawn from the Accounts of Sisco Majok Makom and Mabior Achang Ajalg, both South Sudan nationals on March 28 and 29 2015.

Ten minutes after the withdrawal, the account owners also withdrew the same amount at a branch in Juba, South Sudan. The bank only realised the double withdrawal three days later.
Four suspects including the Bank Manager have since been arrested and charged in court.
In April 2015, three of the suspects were arrested and after about a month in detention, one of them revealed that he had part of the money.

The suspect said in a written statement he made to the investigating police officers that $450,000 was in his house and said his wife would hand it over to the police.
However, despite a team being sent to the suspect's home to collect the money, police records indicate that the suspects were later released on police bond but no record of recovered exhibit from the suspect's home.
Katarambi has handled several prominent cases including the Mukono-Katosi road fraud and the murder of Police officer, ASP Joseph Bigirwa.