Police officer arrested for swapping fake dollars

Can you spot the fake $20 bill from the genuine one?

CRIME | COUNTERFEIT

"The bible says thou shall not steal but nowhere does it state that thou shall not swap," said a Malawian stand-up comedian, Daliso Chaponda, as he cracked the ribs of the Britiain Got Talent (BGT) judges recently.

BGT is a reality TV competition which started in June 2007 and is watched by millions worldwide.

This week, a police officer at Old Kampala Police Station replicated Chaponda's skit only that it was reality and it has landed him in the cells.                                                                                        

Philip Womanya swapped genuine dollars $600 (about sh2.1m) belonging to an Eritrean national after arresting him on suspicion of illegal stay in Uganda.

Womanya was tasked to explain the swiftness and sleight of hand with which he employed to switch genuine and fake dollars in a flash.

The Professional Standards Unit (PSU) commandant Senior Commissioner of Police Joel Aguma confirmed Womanya's arrest on Tuesday evening.

According to Aguma, Womanya arrested the Eritrean over allegations of illegal stay and subsequently combed his apartment. Security operatives usually search residences of suspects during investigations.

Preliminary police investigations reveal that Womanya conducted the arrest without the knowledge of immigration officials at the internal affairs ministry.

Explaining the Eritrean's arrest, Aguma said that as Womanya conducted a search at his apartment in Old Kampala, he seized several documents, commonly referred to as the Arrested Persons Property (APP), including the $600.                                                                                                                         

"After verifying that the Eritrean was living in the country legally, Womanya released him from custody and swapped the genuine dollars with fake ones, before he returned to him his APP," Aguma told New Vision on phone.

The Eritrean reported a case at Old Kampala and subsequently PSU was called to take over the matter. Womanya faces several charges, ranging from possession of fake currency to abuse of office.