KAMPALA, Uganda — Four security operatives are in custody in connection with the alleged theft of gold valued at $1.3 million (approximately 5 billion Ugandan shillings).
The suspects, identified as Superintendent of Police James Besigye, Corporal Simon Owona, Detective Constable Plasid Mulangira, and a man identified only as Monday, were arrested May 12 and are being held at Railway Police Station.
A security source told local media yesterday that the suspects underwent thorough interrogation on May 13. The interrogation was led by Kampala Metropolitan Commander of Criminal Investigations, Assistant Commissioner of Police Henry Mugumya, with representatives from the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), led by Lt. Col. Amos Akampurira, also present.
Conflicting details surround the arrests. One police source indicated the officers were on duty investigating a suspect who had defrauded gold buyers. Another source, however, claimed the officers stole gold from individuals they had arrested.
Besigye reportedly claimed that a colleague from the Mineral Police Unit had approached him for assistance in tracking a suspect identified as Emmanuel Kasirye, also known as Christian. Kasirye had allegedly swindled an Eritrean national, identified only as Hanniba, out of $500,000 in a fraudulent gold deal. This case is registered as CRB: 007/2025. Besigye and his team were also allegedly involved in investigating another case where a Canadian national, William Yousif, residing at Hilton Gardens in Kamwokya, was reportedly defrauded of $800,000 by the same suspect.
A source alleged that police detectives received intelligence that Kasirye had been sighted near Acacia Mall in Kamwokya, seated in a Subaru, with intentions of conning another gold buyer, an Indian national. Kasirye later fled, prompting officers to track his car to Bugolobi in Nakawa Division.
According to the suspects, Kasirye was later spotted on Solent Avenue, where police detectives intercepted his vehicle and arrested the two occupants, identified as Fred Ntege (driver) and Vianne Tumukunde. An eyewitness reported that as the arrest was underway, another vehicle, a Mercedes Benz, rammed into the arresting officers’ vehicle, leading to a serious commotion that included shooting. It was later discovered that the wanted suspect, Kasirye, was an occupant of the Benz but evaded arrest. His accomplices, Ntege and Tumukunde, were detained at Kireka before being released following the intervention of a senior person. The suspects later claimed that 1 kilogram of gold, which was in the car at the time of their arrest, was missing.
“The next day, one Ibra Ssessanga, a resident of Lubowa in Wakiso district, called Besigye seeking to have a meeting at Café Javas on Bombo Road, so as to reach an amicable understanding regarding the matter. He claimed the arrested suspects were his agents,” one of the investigators said. After the meeting, detectives reportedly moved with Ssessanga to the Kireka facility, where a scene officer was called before the suspects’ vehicle was searched. It is reported that no gold was found in the vehicle. As a result, police advised the suspects, who had by then been released on police bond, to lodge a formal complaint over the disappearance of gold from their vehicle to initiate investigations.
Shortly after their release, Tumukunde and Ntege opened a case at Jinja Road Police against the police officers, accusing them of stealing their gold. However, investigators have established that the duo was arrested a few meters from Scorpion Security Company, where they had deposited part of the gold, weighing 971 grams, and were immediately provided with safe keeping receipts (SKR). The company is owned by a Uganda People’s Defense Forces retired senior officer.
“They kept their gold with Scorpion, pending a transaction that was supposed to commence on Monday, [May 12], having failed to get cash on Friday, May 9, from the potential buyer, Delip Matthew,” a source added. Although Ssessanga claims to be the owner of the gold, police sources initially fronted one Samuel Twesigye as the seller.
Speaking with local media on Monday evening, Ssessanga claimed ownership of the gold. “I am the owner of the gold that was stolen by security operatives, it is not for a UPDF general, as it is being alleged by some people,” he said.
A source claimed that a senior CMI official was behind the arrest of the police detectives. However, when contacted, a CMI source, speaking anonymously, said they only intervened to assist an individual who had reported a gold theft and had not received help. “CMI contacted sister security agencies to investigate the matter. No security personnel in CMI owns the gold under contention,” the source revealed.
Reports indicate Uganda has seen a surge in gold scams, often targeting foreign investors. These scams involve individuals with alleged security and political connections, as well as outright fake gold dealers.
An employee at the Bugolobi-based Scorpion Security Company told local media that they received 971 grams of gold worth $42,000 from clients and were tasked with keeping it until May 11. However, the same individuals later returned and retrieved the gold under unclear circumstances, claiming police wanted it for investigations. It is not clear if this gold is related to what was claimed to have been stolen. “That is what I can say on behalf of my boss, Major Guma, who is currently out of the country,” the employee said.
