NWSC imposter arrested after collecting Shs800,000 from residents
The suspect who has been impersonating as a staff of NWSC in Lyantonde Town. PHOTO | CATHERINE ANKUNDA
What you need to know:
- Ms Susan Namutebi, a resident of Lyantonde Town, said the suspect appeared at her home in a NWSC uniform and also presented the corporation’s identity card.
Police in Lyantonde District are holding a man who has been impersonating as a staff of National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) in the area.
The suspect, a resident of Masaka District, had reportedly collected Shs897,000 from NWSC customers in Lyantonde Town by the time police arrested him on Wednesday morning.
According to Mr Douglas Kiwanuka, the officer in charge of Lyantonde Police Station, the suspect was arrested in Buyanja Sub County, Lyantonde District on his way to Rakai District.
“Our operation started immediately after the NWSC area manager alerted us that some impersonator had hoodwinked their customers and taken money from them by false pretense. After a few hours, our detectives informed me that they had arrested the suspect in Buyanja Sub County, heading to the neighbouring Rakai District supposedly going to defraud NWSC customers there as well,” he said.
Police preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect previously worked at one of the NWSC offices in Kampala area as a trainee.
“It seems he has someone he is working within NWSC who feeds him with information about consumers with water bill arrears because he was demanding the exact amount of money they owe the company,” he said, adding that the suspect would be charged with theft and impersonation when investigations are complete.
Ms Susan Namutebi, a resident of Lyantonde Town, said the suspect appeared at her home in a NWSC uniform and also presented the corporation’s identity card.
"Due to the much pressure he had put on me and threats of disconnecting the water, I decided to give him Shs25,000 out of Shs40,000 unpaid bill. He had a receipt book of NWSC and after paying, he gave me a receipt and left,” she said.
Mr Andrew Ahumuza, the Lyantonde NWSC branch manager, said they used to get cases of impostors a couple of years ago and this vice had drastically reduced.
“It is unfortunate that we have registered such a case again, if our staff had not gone to their field to speak to customers, they we wouldn’t have known this,” he said.
He advised NWSC customers to desist from paying for water bills in cash to individuals in the field, but instead use mobile money, bank or physically visit their branch offices.
