Masaka- A man claiming to be a Uganda Peoples Defence Forces soldier is being held by police in Masaka on charges of obtaining money by false pretence.
The 35 year old Ezia Kanuuni aka Muhwezi reportedly conned retired High Court Judge Justice Vincent Kibuuka Musoke of twelve million, eight hundred and fifty thousand shillings, claiming the Judge’s deceased daughter, Sofia Namutebi, had left him in charge of a herd of cattle, which herd he wanted to beef up using the said sum.
Kanuuni, who claimed he was attached to Kasajjagirwa Army Barracks, was arrested on Monday and according to the officer charge of Masaka police station Moses Kakiryo, he will be charged with obtaining money by false pretence and impersonation under reference number CRB/1287/2015.
This was after Justice Kibuuka Musoke, a resident of Matanga village, Mukungwe Sub County , made a statement at police, giving details the details of Kanuuni’s theft.
“The suspect came at my place of residence in Matanga and lied to me on the project of herds of cattle my daughter left to him” reads part of Justice Kibuuka Musoke’s statement.
He further asserts that Kanuuni introduced himself as a UPDF soldier, and friend to the late Namutebi and the man then asked for the said 12 million, the subject of the charges the suspect now faces. “I gave him the money without inspecting the location of the project, but whenever I called him on his phone, he would tell me that he was on duty in Mbale and other districts but later, I learnt that he was fraudster,”. The retired Judge further asserts.
But Kanuuni has denied the charges, insisting the Judge could not have given big sums of money to someone he doesn’t know.
Meanwhile, Brig. Joseph Ssemwanga, the UPDF Commander in Masaka said there are no records indicating that Kanuuni belongs to the Kasajjagirwa barracks.
