Who is Anne Birungi?
Jun 13, 2010
KENYA Police on May 5 arrested a Ugandan woman with cocaine worth Ksh85 million (sh2.2b) at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Whereas the woman’s passport bore the name Anne Birungi Bisaso, it has been discovered that she has another passport in the name Gillian Kiconco, which the Police say i
By Chris Kiwawulo
KENYA Police on May 5 arrested a Ugandan woman with cocaine worth Ksh85 million (sh2.2b) at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Whereas the woman’s passport bore the name Anne Birungi Bisaso, it has been discovered that she has another passport in the name Gillian Kiconco, which the Police say is her real name.
Kiconco was arrested with 21kg of cocaine wrapped in two plastic boxes bearing UN logos.
On arrest, she gave two contradicting accounts; one that she works for Uganda’s foreign affairs ministry and another that she works for UNDP. Both Uganda’s foreign affairs ministry and UNDP have since refuted her claims.
Who is Kiconco?
Born on March 1, 1977 in Kamuganguzi, Kabale district, Kiconco first lived in Kabale before moving to Kampala. A friend says the 33-year-old first cohabited with a one Swaibu, a luggage lifter at Kabale Bus Park.
The couple later separated after a domestic squabble. Kiconco then moved in with another unidentified man who helped her to come to Kampala in early 2000.
It is believed that while in Kampala, Kiconco met a group of drug traffickers who initiated her into their activities. “The group helped her acquire a passport.
Within a short time, she had changed so much that everyone wondered where she was getting the money,†a friend revealed.
In the 10 years Kiconco has been in Kampala, she managed to set up a bar in Kitintale, a Kampala suburb.
According to a neighbour who described her as an arrogant woman, Kiconco first started a small salon which she later transformed into a bar as she got more money.
Apart from owning a bar, friends confess they do not know what exactly Kiconco does. Sources told The New Vision that Kiconco is always seen at the bar with West African nationals suspected to be from Nigeria and Senegal.
One of them, a Senegalese, is said to be her boyfriend and they have a son only identified as Chukuma, who is about four years old now. Kiconco has been popularly known as Maama Chukuma in Kitintale.
“That lady would dress smartly and go to town, sometimes she would be picked up by people we do not know,†said a resident, who preferred anonymity.
In Kampala, Kiconco has been living a disguised lifestyle. Stories are told of how she would meet her ‘business partners’ in her bar in Kitintale on a reserved table. “She was behaving like a high profile woman.
You could think she had a big job in government. In fact some of us thought she was a security agent,†another resident commented. But details about her family are scanty as she has been operating discreetly.
When Kiconco changed her name to Anne Birungi Bisaso to get a new passport in 2006, she did not stop at that.
She also changed the details such as area of residence from Kamuganguzi to Kasangati and her occupation from businesswoman to secretary in the subsequent passports.
Addressing the press recently, Eunice Kisembo, the immigrations department spokesperson, revealed that Kiconco had three passports.
Kisembo said before applying for another passport in 2003 in the name of Gillian Kiconco, she reported to the Police that she had lost her first passport which she got in 2002.
It is not clear whether her initial passport got lost or whether it was simply seized. Kiconco got three passports in a period of four years, according to Kisembo.
However, security sources said Kiconco could be having more than three passports and is believed to have accomplices within the Immigrations department who helped her to acquire the several passports.
The source added that Kiconco could be part of a bigger network of drug traffickers.
A few years ago, the source said, Kiconco was charged with drug trafficking but she presented another passport that is not any of those being talked about. The source added the Police arrested Kiconco as she travelled by road from Nairobi to Uganda with suspected drugs.
Besides the passport that the Kenyan authorities seized from Kiconco on arrest, authorities in Uganda have another passport in the name of Anne Birungi Bisaso issued on March 29, 2006. It is not clear when she got the passport the Kenyan authorities seized.
Whereas Kisembo blames the Police for not informing the Immigration department about the arrest and confiscation of Kiconco’s passport, security officials say this was an issue they were still investigating. “Did that mean they had to issue her other passports?†an official wondered.
The officials noted that there were loopholes in the Immigration department which criminals take advantage of. He added that Kiconco had for long been on their wanted list.
They wondered how she could have got new passports without anybody questioning why she was changing names. “Immigration should track backwards on those people who signed for that woman.
They should also complete the issuance of passports with a fingerprint element as a matter of urgency,†a security officer advised.
Kiconco’s passports indicate that since 2004, she has been frequenting Pakistan, one of the countries known for drug trafficking globally. She was also visiting Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi.
On the day of her arrest in Kenya, Kiconco had reportedly flown from Lima in Peru, to Brazil, then South Africa, arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport aboard South African Airlines.
She was charged with trafficking cocaine but she denied the charges before Kibera Senior Principal Magistrate Grace Nzioka.
She was detained at Langata Women’s Remand Home after Kenya state prosecutor, Francis Ndiema, objected to her bail application. If convicted in Kenya, Birungi faces life imprisonment or 12 years in jail.
According to Kisembo, the Uganda Citizen and Immigration Board will seize and cancel Kiconco’s passport.
The arrest comes amid claims that Uganda has become a transit route for drug traffickers.
At least 13 suspected drug traffickers have been intercepted at the airport since June 2009. Of these, only two did not have the drugs – the rest did. When contacted, the joint security chief at Entebbe airport, Herman Owomugisha, said an up-to-date system should be put in place to beat the challenges of modern criminality.
He said they have intensified surveillance to crack down on drug traffickers. “We are working hard to free this airport of criminals. We do not want our country to become a conduit for drug traffickers,†he vowed.
KENYA Police on May 5 arrested a Ugandan woman with cocaine worth Ksh85 million (sh2.2b) at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Whereas the woman’s passport bore the name Anne Birungi Bisaso, it has been discovered that she has another passport in the name Gillian Kiconco, which the Police say is her real name.
Kiconco was arrested with 21kg of cocaine wrapped in two plastic boxes bearing UN logos.
On arrest, she gave two contradicting accounts; one that she works for Uganda’s foreign affairs ministry and another that she works for UNDP. Both Uganda’s foreign affairs ministry and UNDP have since refuted her claims.
Who is Kiconco?
Born on March 1, 1977 in Kamuganguzi, Kabale district, Kiconco first lived in Kabale before moving to Kampala. A friend says the 33-year-old first cohabited with a one Swaibu, a luggage lifter at Kabale Bus Park.
The couple later separated after a domestic squabble. Kiconco then moved in with another unidentified man who helped her to come to Kampala in early 2000.
It is believed that while in Kampala, Kiconco met a group of drug traffickers who initiated her into their activities. “The group helped her acquire a passport.
Within a short time, she had changed so much that everyone wondered where she was getting the money,†a friend revealed.
In the 10 years Kiconco has been in Kampala, she managed to set up a bar in Kitintale, a Kampala suburb.
According to a neighbour who described her as an arrogant woman, Kiconco first started a small salon which she later transformed into a bar as she got more money.
Apart from owning a bar, friends confess they do not know what exactly Kiconco does. Sources told The New Vision that Kiconco is always seen at the bar with West African nationals suspected to be from Nigeria and Senegal.
One of them, a Senegalese, is said to be her boyfriend and they have a son only identified as Chukuma, who is about four years old now. Kiconco has been popularly known as Maama Chukuma in Kitintale.
“That lady would dress smartly and go to town, sometimes she would be picked up by people we do not know,†said a resident, who preferred anonymity.
In Kampala, Kiconco has been living a disguised lifestyle. Stories are told of how she would meet her ‘business partners’ in her bar in Kitintale on a reserved table. “She was behaving like a high profile woman.
You could think she had a big job in government. In fact some of us thought she was a security agent,†another resident commented. But details about her family are scanty as she has been operating discreetly.
When Kiconco changed her name to Anne Birungi Bisaso to get a new passport in 2006, she did not stop at that.
She also changed the details such as area of residence from Kamuganguzi to Kasangati and her occupation from businesswoman to secretary in the subsequent passports.
Addressing the press recently, Eunice Kisembo, the immigrations department spokesperson, revealed that Kiconco had three passports.
Kisembo said before applying for another passport in 2003 in the name of Gillian Kiconco, she reported to the Police that she had lost her first passport which she got in 2002.
It is not clear whether her initial passport got lost or whether it was simply seized. Kiconco got three passports in a period of four years, according to Kisembo.
However, security sources said Kiconco could be having more than three passports and is believed to have accomplices within the Immigrations department who helped her to acquire the several passports.
The source added that Kiconco could be part of a bigger network of drug traffickers.
A few years ago, the source said, Kiconco was charged with drug trafficking but she presented another passport that is not any of those being talked about. The source added the Police arrested Kiconco as she travelled by road from Nairobi to Uganda with suspected drugs.
Besides the passport that the Kenyan authorities seized from Kiconco on arrest, authorities in Uganda have another passport in the name of Anne Birungi Bisaso issued on March 29, 2006. It is not clear when she got the passport the Kenyan authorities seized.
Whereas Kisembo blames the Police for not informing the Immigration department about the arrest and confiscation of Kiconco’s passport, security officials say this was an issue they were still investigating. “Did that mean they had to issue her other passports?†an official wondered.
The officials noted that there were loopholes in the Immigration department which criminals take advantage of. He added that Kiconco had for long been on their wanted list.
They wondered how she could have got new passports without anybody questioning why she was changing names. “Immigration should track backwards on those people who signed for that woman.
They should also complete the issuance of passports with a fingerprint element as a matter of urgency,†a security officer advised.
Kiconco’s passports indicate that since 2004, she has been frequenting Pakistan, one of the countries known for drug trafficking globally. She was also visiting Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi.
On the day of her arrest in Kenya, Kiconco had reportedly flown from Lima in Peru, to Brazil, then South Africa, arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport aboard South African Airlines.
She was charged with trafficking cocaine but she denied the charges before Kibera Senior Principal Magistrate Grace Nzioka.
She was detained at Langata Women’s Remand Home after Kenya state prosecutor, Francis Ndiema, objected to her bail application. If convicted in Kenya, Birungi faces life imprisonment or 12 years in jail.
According to Kisembo, the Uganda Citizen and Immigration Board will seize and cancel Kiconco’s passport.
The arrest comes amid claims that Uganda has become a transit route for drug traffickers.
At least 13 suspected drug traffickers have been intercepted at the airport since June 2009. Of these, only two did not have the drugs – the rest did. When contacted, the joint security chief at Entebbe airport, Herman Owomugisha, said an up-to-date system should be put in place to beat the challenges of modern criminality.
He said they have intensified surveillance to crack down on drug traffickers. “We are working hard to free this airport of criminals. We do not want our country to become a conduit for drug traffickers,†he vowed.