If you fail to see Frank Gashumba’s show this weekend on NBS TV, it isn’t the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to blame as has always been the case.
Indeed, available information indicates the controversial social critic has reportedly conned a ‘Nkuba Kyeyo’ chap of millions of shillings in the name of helping needy people.
The conned man is said to be a one Ben Nyombi, formerly a journalist and currently staying in the US. Apparently, while watching NTV Nyombi saw a limbless lady who cultivates using her legs and immediately posted on Facebook asking for a person who knew her. Nyombi claims the first person to get into his inbox was Gashumba.
“He assured me that he knew the lady. I sent him money, whose sum I won’t reveal for now to take to the lady. Few days later Gashumba called me, informing me that he had bought for her household items,” Nyombi posted on social media.
Again, Nyombi says Gashumba requested him to send money to buy the woman a boda boda to help her with daily income. “I told him I didn’t have the money he wanted.”
Another incident was of a street vendor, a woman carrying a baby on her back who was thrown on to a pickup truck in a gruesome manner by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) officials.
Again, Nyombi claims he posted on Facebook asking for a person who knew the lady in the video that had gone viral. Still, he says, it was Gashumba who got into his inbox first. Nyombi sent him money to give to the lady.
However, Nyombi claims Gashumba later called him saying that he needed Shs5million to get her a lawyer since she had been arrested. Nyombi says he told Gashumba he didn’t have the money.
However, the money that has made him let the cat out of the bag is the last sum he allegedly sent Gashumba.
On this occasion Nyombi says Gashumba contacted him, saying the President (Museveni) was soon visiting the US; Miami and New York among other places, and that there were still six vacant slots on the President’s entourage.
Gashumba reportedly asked Nyombi to recommend a person of his choice to be included on the list of those travelling with the ‘big man’. When Nyombi told Gashumba his choice of person, the said person had no passport.
Subsequently, Gashumba reportedly told Nyombi to send Shs500, 000 for an express passport and the money was sent.
He later reportedly told him that for the name to be included, he had to pay State House officials Shs6million. Nyombi sent Shs2million and promised to send the balance the following week. However, he became suspicious when Gashumba started phoning him from minute to minute asking for the balance.
This reminded him of a time he had read about Gashumba conning people. He ‘Googled’ his name and found several complaints about Gashumba conning other people.
This forced him to have a second thought about his plans. He demanded Gashumba to refund his money but all he had got were lies until when he felt he couldn’t take it in any more.
“When I contacted him this week asking for the money, he told me ‘we are still mourning’. This left me wondering what had been his contribution towards the burial of the late AIGP, Kaweesi. Was he the one that bought the coffin in which he was buried?”
As an alternative, Nyombi contacted NBS TV boss Kin Kalisa and narrated to him the whole story. In response, NBS TV which hosts his show has scrapped it.
Nyombi has further vowed to make sure that Gashumba doesn’t appear on any other local station again.
“I am not doing this to embarrass Gashumba but I just want to save the hundreds of unsuspecting poor people who might fall victim,” he says.
Nyombi is just one of the several people who have decried Gashumba for conning them especially in the name of promising them jobs in the Middle East.
