By Geoffrey Kamali and Solomon Muyita

RESIDENTS of Buziga parish in Makindye Division, Kampala, woke up to find manna in their midst on Friday morning.

A wealthy person had dumped millions of shillings in 20,000 currency notes at a garbage pit in the neighbourhood.

The Police are probing the source of the cash and the circumstances under which it was dumped there. Sgt. Herbert Ndizeye, the officer in charge of the Buziga Police post, said four people, including a house-girl, Grace Nabukeera, had been arrested over the incident.

“We have information that these people were sharing some of the money. If you pick something that does not belong to you, you are supposed to report to the Police. If you don’t, you are charged with theft,” he said.

The area LC1 chairman, Tom Ssebuyira, claimed to know the source of the money but declined to name it, saying the matter was with the Police.

A few notes were reportedly partly burnt.

The money was found by eight year-old Patrick Kabuye, who was scavenging for polythene packs he wanted to make a football from. Kabuye reportedly dragged the sack for 1km from the posh neighbourhood to his mud and wattle home in Kiruddu, where he exchanged the notes for a few coins, some as low as sh100 for a bundle.

Witnesses said when he arrived home, his mother, Margaret Namutebi, was suspicious and threw the sack out of the house.

“She thought the money was fake and abandoned by thugs,” Moses Ssemambo, a resident said. There was commotion in the area as excited residents thronged little Kabuye’s home to share the manna.

Those who received the cash went on a shopping spree to prove that the money was genuine. Hawkers made a quick buck but suffered after they failed to find change as all buyers had sh20,000 notes.

Witnesses said the boy’s mother had told them the money had been disposed of in their pit-latrine and the residents threatened to dig it up.

The posh neighbourhood has several high profile residents who include former army commander, Maj. Gen. James Kazini. Most of the homes have high-perimeter walls and manned gates. A suspect said the person who walked away with the lowest amount took sh180,000.