Manna falls in Kalangala
Nov 05, 2002
THE Biblical manna fell in Kalangala last week. Never mind, that was what the excited residents thought as they scrambled for the rustling bank notes scattered by an aircraft
by Eddie Ssejjoba in Kalangala
THE Biblical manna fell in Kalangala last week.
Never mind, that was what the excited residents thought as they scrambled for the rustling bank notes scattered by an aircraft last Tuesday.
To the not-so-religious folks in the otherwise quiet, fishing Lake Victoria island district, it was a bumper harvest of nsenene, that elusive but delicious edible grasshopper that came out of season.
A light passenger aircraft, delivering an unspecified amount of cash to the Kalangala Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) branch on Tuesday, apparently got the altitude wrong. The cash boxes burst mid-air, spilling their treasure in the bushes. Now sh5m is missing.
Maj Gen. Katumba Wamala’s boys are not joining the “harvest.†Kalangala Police have arrested several people in connection with the lost money.
Regional Police chief Benson Oyo Nyeko said at least sh5m was missing after the Police and the bank officials picked the dropped money at Bweya on the Bugoma-Kalangala road.
He said for three months, the bank had opted to use air transport after the water route on the Kalangala ferry proved risky and prone to robbery. He said there was still a problem of dropping the money from a high altitude.
The bank officials cross-checked with the delivery note and realised some of the money was missing They rushed to the point of delivery and found dozens of people searching through the bushes.
The Police recovered some of the parcels but some was still missing. The villagers named some suspects who had fled on finding some money. Several were rounded up at the scene and the Police made an operation to recover the balance of the missing cash.
On searching, the Police recovered sh3.5m from some homes. Those arrested included Ssekabira and his wife and Steven Kafeero. Several others were also picked for questioning. The prime suspects were charged with theft.
By press time, some suspects were still on the run and only sh1.2m was still missing. The villagers had made it a habit to gather whenever a passenger plane flies over the area.
THE Biblical manna fell in Kalangala last week.
Never mind, that was what the excited residents thought as they scrambled for the rustling bank notes scattered by an aircraft last Tuesday.
To the not-so-religious folks in the otherwise quiet, fishing Lake Victoria island district, it was a bumper harvest of nsenene, that elusive but delicious edible grasshopper that came out of season.
A light passenger aircraft, delivering an unspecified amount of cash to the Kalangala Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) branch on Tuesday, apparently got the altitude wrong. The cash boxes burst mid-air, spilling their treasure in the bushes. Now sh5m is missing.
Maj Gen. Katumba Wamala’s boys are not joining the “harvest.†Kalangala Police have arrested several people in connection with the lost money.
Regional Police chief Benson Oyo Nyeko said at least sh5m was missing after the Police and the bank officials picked the dropped money at Bweya on the Bugoma-Kalangala road.
He said for three months, the bank had opted to use air transport after the water route on the Kalangala ferry proved risky and prone to robbery. He said there was still a problem of dropping the money from a high altitude.
The bank officials cross-checked with the delivery note and realised some of the money was missing They rushed to the point of delivery and found dozens of people searching through the bushes.
The Police recovered some of the parcels but some was still missing. The villagers named some suspects who had fled on finding some money. Several were rounded up at the scene and the Police made an operation to recover the balance of the missing cash.
On searching, the Police recovered sh3.5m from some homes. Those arrested included Ssekabira and his wife and Steven Kafeero. Several others were also picked for questioning. The prime suspects were charged with theft.
By press time, some suspects were still on the run and only sh1.2m was still missing. The villagers had made it a habit to gather whenever a passenger plane flies over the area.