How army, police barracks are used to con civilians

Army and police personnel patrol Nyabuswa Trading Centre in Kabarole recently. Photo by Scovia Atuhaire.

What you need to know:

  • In one of the cases, the dossier shows, two men who identified themselves as Celestino Okello and a one William, took unsuspecting individuals to the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Directorate (CIID) at Kibuli, Kampala and showed them cars which they said were on sale.
  • At Bombo and Kakiri barracks, Ms Ravina was led on a tour of stores in which the maize flour and beans she was meant to supply would be kept.

Kampala- The practice of conning people in the premises of army and police installations has existed for years and a number of people have fallen prey, information contained in a confidential report to Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, shows.

The practice was first brought to light in an expose by this newspaper last October when a Polish company was defrauded of about Shs2b in a fake arms deal by a racket of conmen at Bombo army barracks.

In light of the expose, a police officer we will not name for reasons of his safety wrote a confidential note to Gen Kayihura on December 22, 2016, bringing to the police boss’ attention a number of similar cases that took place in the compounds or offices of police and army installations.

In one of the cases, the dossier shows, two men who identified themselves as Celestino Okello and a one William, took unsuspecting individuals to the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Directorate (CIID) at Kibuli, Kampala and showed them cars which they said were on sale. This was in 2012.

The intending buyers were shown what was said to be a court order authorising the sale of the vehicles in the police compound by public treaty and then quoted appealing prices, with each vehicle going for approximately Shs4m.

One of the intending buyers was Rev Aaron Batte and his wife Shallom Namanya.

Rev Batte and Ms Namanya later filed a case at CIID headquarters under reference GEF 402/12 reporting that they had been defrauded a total of Shs8.8m.

Rev Batte told Sunday Monitor that after filing the case, he and his wife were asked to identify the suspects at a suspect identification parade at CIID headquarters. Because Rev Batte was away, he said, his wife, who was accompanied by her father, went for the parade and managed to identify Mr Okello, a police officer, as the person who defrauded them of their money.

The case matter was assigned to Mr Joseph Kato to investigate. In the dossier to Gen Kayihura, the writer refers to Mr Kato as “a friend to these criminals”. The writer says there is collusion between policemen and criminals in different cases, something which Gen Kayihura publicly acknowledged last month.

The police spokesperson, Mr Andrew Felix Kaweesi, told Sunday Monitor that the suspects would be investigated. “ That’s purely criminal. Those who did it will be investigated. We cannot condone crime,” he said. Mr Kaweesi also said whoever has been a victim of such fraud should report to police to help in investigations.

On December 28, 2016, Gen Kayihura told journalists that a “mafia had infiltrated the police and army and has built elaborate networks through which they commit sophisticated crimes, including financial frauds in collusion with employees of banks.

Gen Kayihura was quoted by this newspaper thus: “This is how mafias work. They have their people everywhere … These conmen involve our security personnel. We have arrested some. They have infiltrated the police and the military. They are everywhere; that is why I call it mafia-like because that is how mafias work.”

Rev Batte said he eventually gave up on his money, but not before he filed a complaint at the Professional Standards Unit of the police to try and force the police’s hand in pursuing his matter. The policemen he accuses of defrauding him were never presented in court.

Conned at army barracks
In December 2013, Ms Ponnie Ravina, a South Sudanese businesswoman, was driven to Kakiri and Bombo army barracks by people who were supposed to help her secure a tender to supply food items to the army.

According to her account to the police, Ms Ravina was courted from South Sudan by a man who identified himself as a procurement officer in the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF). Some of the men in the entourage were clad in full army uniform.
At Bombo and Kakiri barracks, Ms Ravina was led on a tour of stores in which the maize flour and beans she was meant to supply would be kept.

She was later informed that in order to secure the business, she was supposed to deposit some money on a certain account to facilitate the transactions.

In the end, she was conned of $100,800 (about Shs 400m).

The outgoing army spokesperson, Lt Col Paddy Ankunda, said yesterday the army would investigate the matter.

“As a normal practice, we shall investigate and bring the suspects to book,” Lt Col Ankunda said.

Ms Ravina engaged a Kampala-based lawyer, Mr Patrick Kasumba, to pursue the conmen. Mr Kasumba told Sunday Monitor that the soldiers involved in the case were never arrested and the three civilians who were arrested and charged were later released on bail after which they disappeared.

One of the people who had stood surety for one of the suspects was fined a paltry Shs5m.

Ms Ravina cut her losses and returned to South Sudan.

In the neatly choreographed ploy referred to at the start of this article, which this newspaper broke, the Polish company, BMP Poland Z.o.o, was duped by a one Capt Muhoozi, a Mr Simbwa and others still at large, who passed themselves off as contacts to the Ministry of Defence’s procurement unit and held meetings with the company’s officials inside the barracks.

The Polish company, according to the deal they were being offered, would supply military equipment worth hundreds of billions. The conmen, who said they represented a company called Prima Investments Uganda, were paid the Shs 2b as consultancy fees.