Bank forgery victims want convicts jailed 4 years

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The complainants in the case where a credit bank official was found guilty of aiding a client to obtain sh200m credited by false pretences from Cairo Bank have asked the Buganda Road Chief Magistrates' Court to sentence Specioza Nasuuna and accomplice Robert Kisolo to four years in prison.

This was after Chief Magistrate, Ronald Kayizzi, asked the complainants in the case what court should do for the convicts before passing its decision.

In 2023, Kisolo and Nasuuna appeared before Chief Magistrate, Ronald Kayizzi, on charges of forgery, obtaining credit by false pretences and conspiracy to commit a felony.

They however denied the charges.

The offence of forgery contrary to section 342,345(d) (i) and 348 of the Penal Code Act attracts a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment, while the punishment of obtaining credit by false pretences contrary to Section 308 (a) of the Penal Code Act is imprisonment for one year upon conviction.

The offence of conspiracy to commit a felony contrary to Section 390 of the Penal Code Act attracts a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment.

Conviction

On February 10, 2025, Kayizzi convicted Nasuuna, a resident of Tega Zone Nabbingo parish Kyengera town council in Wakiso district after finding her guilty of conniving with Kisolo, a businessman of Bulamu Village in Nangabo parish sub-county to forge several documents that enabled him to obtain the said loan.

The convicts forged powers of Attorney they claimed to have been signed by Catherine Namusoke, Henry Ssemugooma and Clementina Babirye, the lawful administrators of land comprised in block 109 plot 22 in Gwafu Seeta.

Court found that a survey report and a bank valuation of the said land which Nasuuna smuggled onto Kisolo’s loan application file was the basis for obtaining sh200m.

11 witnesses lined up

The prosecution proved the charges of forgery after presenting 11 wittiness including siblings whose ancestral land at Gwafu was mortgaged in the bank, Cairo bank boss’ and hand-writing experts henceforth leaving no doubt in the minds of Chief Magistrate Kayizzi that Kisolo and Nasuuna connived to forge and defraud Cairo Bank.

After convicting the duo, the prosecution, led by Joan Keko, asked for a custodial sentence of 10 years and a compensation order of sh200m because cases of bank fraud are on the rise countrywide with a 2023 annual Police crime report indicating a total of 12,924 cases of economic crime.

“Your worship cases narrowing down to obtaining by false pretences ranked highest, they were 10,709 out of the 12,924 on economic crime and of forgeries they were 868 nationally,” Keko informed the court.

She further informed the court that KMP South where Buganda Chief Magistrates’ Road Court falls under jurisdiction regionally registered the highest number of economic crimes in the country in 2023, we registered as KMP South 2,186 cases of economic crime.

Keko said that from the evidence that was adduced, it is clear that sh200m was deposited in the account of Kisolo and the money was never paid back.

“Your worship, the fact that the bank lost sh200mn needs no further explanation. The executive director in charge of supervision in Bank of Uganda, Tumubweine Twinemanzi, said on May 17, 2024, the banking sector made a profit of sh1.5 trillion in 2023,” Keko further informed the court.

However, in the same year 2023, the annual crime report reports that money lost in fraud by banks amounted to sh1.8 trillion which is more than the profit they made and according to statistics 70% of the profits went to the criminals and 30% was retained by the banks.

Keko also highlighted the psychological and mental anguish that the convicts brought to Ssemugooma and his siblings.

However, Magistrate Kayizzi has adjourned the sentence to think through the issue of compensation that the Defense lawyers have objected to saying compensation should be available once you have lost something but the complainants ancestral land was never up for sale and Cairo Bank has remedies under Civil Law.