Robbers targeting Forex Bureau accountants committed to High Court

The Buganda Road Chief Magistrate's Court has committed to High Court two of the nine suspected aggravated robbers, who were targeting Forex Bureau accountants around Kampala.

Julius Mugisha A3 and Birali Mulinzi A8 who have been sent for trial by the Magistrate, Ms Miriam Okello, are part of the group of goons who on July 2021 escaped from a moving police costa van as they were being taken to Kitalya Prison.

The Police managed to re-arrest three of them, while six suspects are still at large. The accused Ibrahim Kigundu A4 was not yesterday produced before court by prisons for committal. 

Ms Okello was prompted to commit the duo upon the prosecutor presenting a committal note from the Director of Public Prosecution stating that inquiries into their case are complete.
 
They are facing charges of aggravated robbery for allegedly punching one, Ahmed Hassan Yusuf, a Somali national who is an accountant at Amal Express Limited in Kisenyi a city suburb before freeing with a bag of money.

The court earlier heard from the prosecution that the victim Yusuf had gone to Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) Equatorial Mall branch as part of his normal routine to deposit or withdraw money.

According to the indictment, the victim Yusuf on May 25, 2020 during morning hours, left their Forex Bureau in Kisenyi in the morning, in the company of the manager on an errand to DTB Equatorial Branch to withdraw money for the business. The victim had a cheque of $100,000 (Shs378,500,000 million) before they boarded their car.

This committal document explains that during the time the three were transacting at Equatorial Mall where they had parked, the cobbler operating in that place noticed some suspicious activity from a group of men who were stationed on either sides of the road.

"The cobbler suspected them to be thieves and alerted a nearby mobile money agent. When the mobile money agent confronted one of the men as to why they were loitering near her, he said he wanted airtime and provided a mobile money number, on which the agent loaded Shs5000 worth of airtime," the indictment reads in part.

This document states that the victim successfully converted the money Shs378,500,000m from DTB and went and successfully banked some in Stanbic Bank Nakivubo Branch. There he bought more $25,000 (about Shs94,525,000m).

However, as the victim and his two colleagues were returning to their car at Equatorial Mall they crossed the road and a man they later identified as Rahmah Abdu Bakata emerged from the side and punched the victim so hard on the head, that he immediately fell down and lost consciousness.

The indictment explains that the victim's friends tried to help him but they were immediately surrounded by over 10 goons who descended upon the victim before one later identified as Ibrahim Ssozi grabbed the bag. All the robbers ran off to waiting Boda Bodas and took the direction of Bombo Road.

Court heard from the prosecution that information soon reached security operatives of CMI and Uganda Police Force (UPF) who responded to the scene and the victim was taken to hospital.

At the trial, the prosecution will adduce evidence from the relevant CCTV camera footage from around the scene which was fully extracted, and the suspects were identified.

The police records show that a search was conducted at the home of some of the accused where some money, a land title among other property suspected to have been bought using the stolen money were recovered.

Utility

The suspects currently on the run after escaping from lawful custody include; Rahmah Abdu Bakata A1 (accused one), Ibrahim Ssozi A2, Michael Lukwago A6, Faruk Kumar Tomusange A7, Tonny Ssentongo A9

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