Man who attempted to con Kabushenga further remanded

May 03, 2018

Mutatiina forged and fraudulently uttered a document with headed paper of ‘ISO’, purported to have been written and signed by Aliganyira.

Pic: David Mutatiiina, clad in a blue suit handcuffed with another prisoner as they were being led to the courtroom at Nakawa Chief Magistrate's court on Friday. Photo by  Michael Odeng

                                                     

Nakawa Chief Magistrate's court has further remanded David Mutatiina, the man who impersonated Internal Security Organisation (ISO) director for Political Affairs, Lt Col Joseph Aliganyira in order to con Vision Group chief, Robert Kabushenga.

 Yesterday, the court presided over by Chief Magistrate Jameson Karemani remanded the accused to Luzira Prison after State Attorney Anne Ntimba Kairu informed court that investigations into the matter were still ongoing.

 "The Police are still investigating the case. We pray that it is adjourned for mention," she requested.

 This prompted Karemani to adjourn the case to May 11, without hearing Mutatiina's bail application as requested by his lawyer, Jackson Komugisha a fortnight before.

 Mutatiina is battling three offences of impersonating a public officer, forgery and uttering false documents. All the offences attract a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment on conviction. 

On April 20, Karemani read out the charges to Mutatiina, who had initially admitted the offence upon arrest at Vision Group offices and he denied it. 

Upon arrest recently, Mutatiina, also known as Bishanga, admitted to ISO operatives that he had approached Kabushenga so that he could get money.

 "I called him first from Nakulabye using a landline and I told him I would send someone to his office, but I went there myself," he pleaded.

 Prosecution alleges that on April 9, 2018 at Nasser road in Kampala, Mutatiina forged and fraudulently uttered a document with headed paper of ‘Internal Security Organisation', purported to have been written and signed by Aliganyira.

 Prosecution further states that on April 12, 2018, Mutatiina falsely represented himself to be a person employed in public service as Aliganyira and called Kabushenga pretending to be him (Aliganyira), saying he has been tasked by the President to vet him (Kabushenga) as a permanent secretary by virtue of employment.

 Investigations indicate that he had earlier in the same day, called Kabushenga, saying he "had good news for him, as he (Kabushenga) was to be appointed to a Cabinet job".

Kabushenga said the accused identified himself as a member from ISO and that they were carrying out a vetting exercise in which he is being considered for the job of either Attorney General (AG), or secretary to Cabinet/head of Public Service.

 "The person who called me said he would send me someone in the afternoon at around 3:00pm to deliver a message. The caller said the messenger would meet me after an assignment in Entebbe," Kabushenga said. 

Kabushenga waited for his visitor and a slender tall man, who was wearing a navy-blue suit, finally arrived and he was ushered into his office.

 Mutatiina delivered a handwritten "confidential note". The note was headed with "Internal Security Organisation', purportedly coming from the office of the ISO director for political affairs (Aliganyira).

 In the confidential note, Kabushenga was being asked to specify which of the two posts AG or secretary to Cabinet) he prefers.

 The note claimed that the vetting exercise followed an executive order issued by President Yoweri Museveni on April 9, instructing them to conduct express undercover intelligence on Kabushenga.

 Kabushenga said he became suspicious when Mutatiina asked for a ‘token of motivation' for him and his group.

 "I became suspicious because I do not think intelligence people contact anyone while vetting them. So, I called in security and the ISO director (Aliganyira) to establish whether he was actually their staff. Indeed he was not," Kabushenga said.

 Mutatiina is said to be the same person who has been calling people in government offices, posing as an ISO operative before he cons them under the guise of vetting them for jobs.

 Aliganyira said the suspect works with two other people David Nuwagaba and an elderly lady, called Sofia Nakajubi.

 Nakajubi was recently arrested after Mutatiina had sent her to a commissioner in the works ministry to pick sh18m, alleging that the same was for vetting.

 

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