Fake street beggar arrested in Kampala

PIC: Suspect Shafik Bakulu Mpagi wearing a look of shame after his arrest in Kampala. (Credit: Kampala Metropolitan Police)

CRIME

KAMPALA - His close friend got suspicious when he saw him begging in downtown Kampala. What seemed even more peculiar was that the man he knew to be able-bodied was asking for money from strangers - apparently with an amputated hand.

That prompted him to tip off Police at Mini Price, a congested business area in the downtown part of the city.

And once the security apparatus had been notified, they swung into action - and swiftly arrested suspect Shafik Bakulu Mpagi.

Indeed, he had been pretending to have an amputated arm so he could draw the sympathy of passersby along this busy area of Kampala that teems with people for a large part of the day.

Perhaps that was the reason the suspect elected to establish one of his 'duty stations' as the entrance of Mukwano Arcade.

A statement by Police says that when they got to the scene, they ordered the impostor to "remove the cloths he had covered his hand with".

And the reaction?

Shock on the faces of the passersby!

The dirty bandaged 'amputated arm' and rugged look were all part of a cunning plan by the suspect to attract the attention of what Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Luke Oweyesigyire called "kind-hearted and well-meaning people".

And there could be many more Mpagis out there.

"There are a number of people that pretend to be needy through begging on the streets just the same way as Mpagi has been doing. Therefore kind-hearted and well-meaning people are in danger of being misled," Owoyesigyire said, according to the Police statement.

For Mpagi, it has been an apparently thriving business, having started begging three months ago.

Police said the suspect confessed he would make as much as sh20,000 daily from simply sitting at a spot and putting on display his apparently amputated arm - plus of course a look of sympathy and desperation.

According to Police, Mpagi had made Equatorial Mall and Mukwano Arcade his areas of operation.

There is one sticking point in all this. The resident of Kisenyi, Muzana Zone reportedly said he did this because he did not have employment.

But is this the new survival for the fittest? Where the fit pretend to be unfit in order to eke out a living?

Meanwhile, Mpagi is still in Police custody and has been slapped with a charge of being a public nuisance.