{UAH} Police boss held over switching exhibits with fake dollars

Police boss held over switching exhibits with fake dollars

Written by URN

 Created: 04 September 2016

 

Wilber Wanyama, the Kampala North Metropolitan CID boss is in trouble for allegedly replacing exhibit money with counterfeit currency. Wanyama was arrested on Friday and locked up at the Special Investigations Directorate (SID) in Kireka.

During an operation against fake gold dealers in Kawempe recently, Police recovered over $10,000 (about Shs 33.6m). According to a source at the Kampala Metropolitan Police headquarters, Wanyama kept the exhibit money for two days before he transferred to Kampala Central Police Station (CPS).
 
"Everyone was shocked to see that the dollars notes [recovered] had turned into fake dollars," the officer who preferred anonymity told URN. Police spokesperson, Andrew Felix Kaweesi has confirmed the arrest, but declined to divulge details.
 
 "It is true he has been arrested and is detained at SID over multiple cases," he said. The fake dollar scandal comes barely a week after Wanyama was allegedly involved in another scandal - the extortion of more than Shs 60m from Omar Muhammad, a fuel dealer in Kawempe.
 
Two operatives from the Flying Squad Unit were also arrested as investigations were still ongoing into the role of Wanyama. It was alleged that the officers extorted money from Muhammad when they picked him up for his alleged involvement in the hijacking of a fuel tanker and killings its driver along Jinja road.
 
According to records at the Flying Squad Unit, Muhammad was picked up and locked up at Kawempe Police Station until he paid Shs 60m to regain his freedom despite the fact that he wasn't under any investigations. Wanyama is faulted for failing to transfer the suspect to Jinja Road Police Station, which is in charge of the area where the crime was committed. 

He is also claimed to have negotiated for the payment and release of the suspect from custody. Wanyama is not new to controversy. In 2014, Wanyama was investigated for orchestrating the burning of the CID offices at Old Kampala police Station and theft of more than Shs 20m exhibit money. 

Prior to this incident, he was also implicated for the disappearance of motorcycles from the same police station, which were placed under his care. However, the investigations stopped midway as no evidence was found pinning him on the scandals.

A police director who spoke to URN on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak for the force says, "Wanyama is a very lucky man, he always finds a way out of all these issues.  At first there is always overwhelming evidence and then it disappears." 

The investigation of the fake dollars, brings to two the number of cases where police officers are being investigated for tampering with evidence within a space of six months. 

A number of police officers attached to Entebbe Aviation Police, are being investigated for allegedly replacing cocaine exhibits with chalk powder.

Gwokto La'Kitgum

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