Government tells embassy to help SK Mbuga
Kampala socialite Sulaiman Kabangala Mbuga
What you need to know:
- Mbuga was arrested at a Dubai airport on January 28.
- In February last year, Ms Chebet returned to Sweden and was arrested but the District Court released her on consideration that it was possible to monitor her with a travel ban. However, she later disappeared.
Kampala. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed the Ugandan mission in Denmark to follow up the arrest of Kampala socialite Sulaiman Kabangala Mbuga and offer him any possible assistance.
Speaking by telephone yesterday, State minister for International Cooperation Henry Okello Oryem said he had directed the Uganda embassy in Denmark, which also covers Sweden, to find out the circumstances under which Mr Mbuga was arrested and offer him consular services.
DON'T MISS:
“Irrespective of whatever crime SK Mbuga committed, we have an obligation to offer him consular services. I have asked our embassy in Sweden to confirm the arrest and get back to me,” Mr Okello Oryem said.
Arrest
Mr Mbuga was arrested at a Dubai airport on January 28 as he was preparing to travel back to Uganda after getting wind that Interpol was planning to arrest him and deliver him to Sweden. He was reportedly flown to the Scandinavian country on Tuesday.
Interpol and FBI have been hunting for Mr Mbuga, 34, and his wife Angella Vivienne Chebet, 33, in connection with the alleged fraudulent transfer of 53m Kronor (about Shs23b) from a company account she was running with her 71-year old Swedish boyfriend, Sten Heinsoo.
Mr Mbuga’s lawyers, E. Wamimbi Advocates and Solicitors, declined to discuss the matter.
Uganda’s Ambassador to Denmark Zaake Wanume Kibedi said he had no information regarding the socialite’s arrest.
Chebet, aka, Vivienne Birungi is still at large and Interpol are hunting for her. However, sources in Dubai claimed Ms Chebet flew back to Sweden following her husband’s arrest.
She was first arrested and charged in a Swedish court in February last year but she later disappeared and returned to Uganda.
Recently, the Swedish media reported that the Swedish government had requested for assistance from their Ugandan counterparts to have the couple arrested. Uganda and Sweden do not have an extradition treaty.
However, Mr Okello Oryem denied knowledge of any request from Sweden.
The couple has been living in luxury in Uganda. They own a string of houses and luxury sports cars.
Source of trouble
Ms Chebet and her former boyfriend, Mr Heinsoo, met in 2015 and they started a relationship that resulted in the co-founding of a company to trade in gold. Information indicates that Mr Mbuga posed as Ms Chebet’s brother and she used her powers in the company to transfer 53M Kronor (Swedish currency) to Mr Mbuga’s accounts in Uganda.
The money in question was being held in trust by Mr Heinsoo, a former head of state and county politician.
Mr Heinsoo has already appeared before a Swedish court where he pleaded that he had lost the money when he tried to help a female friend to transport gold from Uganda to Sweden.
He was early this month charged with gross negligence for breaching the principals of trust. Ms Chebet too was charged in absentia by the Stockholm District Court with several counts of gross fraud committed against Mr Heinsoo.
In February last year, Ms Chebet returned to Sweden and was arrested but the District Court released her on consideration that it was possible to monitor her with a travel ban. However, she later disappeared.
In November 2016, just two weeks after Mr Heinsoo had made the last money transfer, SK Mbuga and Chebet organised a lavish wedding in Uganda.
Their woes came to light after their glamorous wedding.
