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Police have arrested three car washers accused of stealing Sh118 million from a vehicle belonging to Busiro East MP, Medard Lubega Sseggona, while it was being washed.
Sseggona, chairperson of the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE), had taken his vehicle for cleaning at a washing bay near the Catholic cathedral in Rubaga.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango identified the suspects as Jordan Asiimwe, Emmanuel Migadde, and John Vianney Kibaale, while noting that other suspects remain at large.
Detectives from Nateete Police Station conducted searches at the suspects’ residences in Wankolokolo-Kinaawa along Nakawuka road in Kyengera town council, Wakiso district, where they recovered a portion of the stolen money.
“We recovered Sh35 million, and the suspects claim they took Sh118 million,” said Onyango. It is alleged that while Sseggona left his car at the washing bay, the car washers made off with the cash while cleaning it.
Area chairperson Edward Lutaaya witnessed the police searches, during which detectives found some of the money hidden in the ceiling of one of the rented rooms. Lutaaya urged youth to pursue honest work instead of resorting to theft.
Tensions rose as the suspects accused each other of taking more money. Police are pursuing leads suggesting that some of the stolen money was taken to Mpigi. By yesterday evening, detectives had traveled to Mpigi to follow up on these reports.
Sseggona, contacted for comment, expressed reluctance for the story to be published, citing personal issues. “I do not want that story in the newspaper. Do that for me,” he stated.
According to the 2023 annual crime report, thefts of all kinds topped the list of reported cases, followed by common assault, domestic violence, obtaining by false pretences, threatening violence, defilements, and cattle thefts. The report highlighted economic gain as a primary motivator for theft cases.
This incident of theft follows closely on the heels of another high-profile robbery involving Ambassador Barbara Nekesa Oundo, where 12 individuals, including three police officers, stand accused of stealing an unspecified amount of cash from her home.
The accused officers, Sgt Dominic Idro, police constables Michael Wango, and Sharif Mugoya, alongside civilians Edgar Arinda, Josh Kalinda, and Emmanuel Basooma, have been remanded over the robbery.
The prosecution alleges that on December 5, 2023, the accused, armed with two guns, received and retained an unspecified amount of money stolen from Oundo’s home.
The group appeared before Makindye Grade One Magistrate, Charles Opio, facing six counts related to the robbery.
Source: The Ankole Times