Kampala, Uganda | By Michael Wandati | Four police officers attached to Kabalagala Police Station have been dismissed with disgrace and charged by the Uganda Police Force for allegedly robbing $30,000 (approximately Shs 114 million) from Kenyan businessman Muhammad Olad Abdirahman.
The four officers based at Kabalagala Police Station, identified as DC Phiona Among (28), DC Isaac Angula (27), DC Shafik Baluku (26), and DC Bernard Galenda, face charges of discreditable conduct and are accused of engaging in an aggravated robbery that involved a Kenyan businessman carrying $30,000.
According to Fred Enanga, the Police Spokesperson, the officers were apprehended for allegedly stealing approximately UGX 114 million from Muhammad Olad Abdirahman, the Kenyan businessman. Enanga explained that the incident unfolded when the victims sought assistance from a manager at Royal View Hotel Buziga to exchange their $30,000 into Uganda shillings for the purpose of purchasing a lorry.
Enanga further detailed that the hotel manager informed one officer, who then alerted the other three. The officers, in collaboration with an individual named Okello posing as a foreign exchange broker, orchestrated the victims’ arrest. The victims were reportedly taken to Kabalagala barracks road and subsequently to another hotel garden, where they were allegedly robbed of $30,000 before being released.
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Upon recounting their traumatic experience, the victims reported the incident to the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), leading to the arrest of the four officers. Searches at the officers’ residences resulted in the recovery of dollars and other pieces of evidence.
Enanga stated that the officers will undergo proceedings at the police disciplinary court, where dismissal from the force is anticipated. Following this, they will face charges of aggravated robbery in the court of law.
Efforts are underway to locate the hotel manager and an individual identified as Okello.
The annual crime report of 2022 highlighted an increase in cases of aggravated robbery of cash, with 443 incidents reported to the police, representing a 1.6% rise compared to 2021 when 436 cases were recorded.
