Security personnel linked to sh2.9b city hotel robbery

Fresh details have emerged linking high-ranking Ugandan security personnel to the sophisticated robbery of $800,000 (sh2.9b) from a Chinese businessman, Max Lee, at a city hotel.

As Police probe how Tanzanians Joseph Mnanka Marwa and John Chacha Mwita got information about Lee’s cash in Kololo Courts Hotel and travelled thousands of miles from Tanzania to execute the robbery, new evidence suggests that Police and military personnel played a key role in planning the crime.

Although detectives declined to divulge the security persons’ names so as not to jeopardise ongoing investigations into the robbery, they revealed that it also involved a general.

The development comes after the arrest and extradition of Marwa to Uganda on Saturday.

Marwa is currently detained at Jinja Road Police Station, from where he is being interrogated.

The suspects, who disguised as Samsoni Riso Juma and Ambrose Peter Ginono, claiming to be Kenyan businessmen, presented photocopies of national identity cards and passports; numbers 703236455 and 2631967.

However, when Uganda police detectives contacted their counterparts in Nairobi, Kenya, it was confirmed that the identity cards used by the suspects were fake.

Through intelligence coordination, Police discovered the true identities of the suspects and that they were Tanzanians (Marwa and Mwita).

The man who had checked in as Samsoni Riso Juma was Marwa (born on January 1, 1986), while his accomplice, Ambrose Peter Ginono, was Mwita (born on November 3, 1972). Both suspects are from Kuria West, Tanzania and had four pending criminal cases in Nairobi.

It has also emerged that the Ugandan cartel had prior knowledge of the Chinese businessman’s operations and transactions before enlisting the services of Tanzanians.

Sources revealed that it was Mwita, an expert in decrypting codes for cash deposit safes, who opened the safe that contained the sh2.9b in Lee’s hotel room when they orchestrated the robbery in 2022. Since then, Uganda police and Interpol have been hunting for the suspects.

During interrogation, Marwa reportedly said they expected a much larger sum of money.

“The targeted amount was bigger than that, but we found $800,000,” a detective quoted Marwa as saying.

How robbery was executed

To successfully carry out their robbery, the two men booked into room 313, which was next to their victim’s room (310) at the hotel.

On the fateful day, at 8:30pm, they allegedly broke into their victim’s room when he stepped out for his routine evening walk. The burglars targeted two safes — one containing keys and another the money.

Upon his return, Lee found his room key card malfunctioning, unable to access his room. He immediately alerted the hotel management, who reviewed Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera footage from the time of his departure to his return.

The footage confirmed that the occupants of room 313 (Marwa and Mwita) were responsible for the burglary.

On the morning of December 8, 2022, Lee reported the matter to Jinja Road Police Station, under case reference CRB 860/2022, detailing the theft of $800,000.

Investors’ protection

Between 2017 and 2018, amid a surge in attacks on factories and foreign investors, particularly Chinese nationals, the Government deployed armed military personnel to safeguard several investors, a measure that remains in place to date.

However, sources revealed that some of these security personnel have used their proximity to the investors to plan robberies against them.

Ugandan partners charged

Investigators have since traced and arrested Patrick Francis Birungi alias “Uncle” and Halid Lukwago, who the suspects met in Rubaga Division, Kampala, after the robbery.

They have been charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, burglary and theft and are now on remand at Luzira Prison.

Following their arrests, the Nakawa Chief Magistrates’ Court issued international arrest warrants for Marwa and Mwita, with Interpol officially notified.

How suspects were got

Following the heist, a manhunt was launched in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in coordination with Interpol.

Mwita’s arrest involved a deceptive strategy.

A female informant working with Ugandan investigators reportedly lured him into crossing from Tanzania to Kenya.

The moment Mwita set foot in Kenya, he was arrested and transferred to Nairobi. During interrogation, he confessed to the burglary and identified Marwa as the mastermind.

According to detectives, Mwita said his role was to open the safe. Using Mwita, Marwa was tracked to his home in Tanzania and also arrested.

Later, Mwita was released on Police bond in Kenya after Ugandan authorities reportedly delayed to submit extradition documents. He has since gone underground again and remains wanted, according to police.

When contacted, Interpol Uganda bureau head Joseph Obwona confirmed the arrest and extradition of Marwa to face charges in Kampala.

Security personnel in crime

This robbery is not the first case involving security personnel in high-profile heists, casting a spotlight on the growing problem of security personnel being involved in organised crime.

In 2016, senior police officers were embroiled in a dispute involving seized cocaine valued at over sh13b, which was swapped with cassava flour and stolen from Police stores.

In Mukono, a criminal gang involving civilians and security personnel was implicated in the theft of 21,600kg of coffee beans valued at sh470m.

Six suspects, among them two senior police officers and a Uganda Revenue Authority customs agent, were arrested and charged. The police officers were Assistant Superintendent of Police Elly Akoragye, 36, attached to Nagayama Police Station and Detective ASP Ali Katende, 36.

How they shared the loot

Preliminary investigations indicate that confessions from Marwa have shed light on how the stolen money was shared.

According to Police, Marwa took $270,000 (sh990m), while Mwita took $130,000 (sh476m). It has since been established that the Ugandan security personnel took $350,000 (sh1.2b), while another $50,000 (sh183m) was shared among two individuals; Patrick Francis Birungi alias “Uncle” and Halid Lukwago, who the suspects met in Rubaga Division, Kampala, after the robbery.

After picking the money, Marwa and Mwita left Kololo on bodabodas and went to Musajja Alumbwa Road in Rubaga, where they met Birungi and Lukwago.

According to Police, CCTV cameras captured Birungi and Lukwago speaking with the Tanzanian suspects before they fled to Tanzania via Mutukula border point on December 8, 2022.

“At the border, they were again helped by security to cross with their loot,” the source said.

Statistics

The 2024 Uganda Police Crime Report indicated a 4.1% decrease in overall crimes, with 218,715 cases recorded last year compared to 228,074 cases in 2023.

The report indicated a 4.1% decrease in overall crimes, with 218,715 cases recorded last year compared to 228,074 cases in 2023.

The report reveals that last year, a total of 573 cases were reported, with sh8.2b stolen and only sh249m recovered by police, compared to 551 cases in 2023, with total cash losses reaching sh7.2b. Only sh102m was recovered.

In 2022, a total of 443 cases of cash robbery were reported, with a 1.6% increase from 2021. The total amount lost in cash heists was sh5.2b, with only sh275m recovered.

These statistics highlight the growing threat of organised crime and the role of insiders in robberies.