Police officers from West Nile Regional Police Headquarters in Uganda have arrested a suspect of fraud targetting teachers.
In an incident of obtaining money by false pretense that occurred in Obichako village in Arua District, a headteacher of a local school lost millions of Ugandan shillings in the scheme.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that on January 16th, 2024 at around 1 pm, a report of obtaining money by fraud and personation, was made at Arua Vurra Central Police Station, by Apio Lillian Tako, a 54-year-old headteacher of Logili Girls School in Obichako village.
The report implicated a suspect named Aja Victor Adame, a 43-year-old man from Galuga Bukaya village in Wakiso district.
The incident allegedly took place in September 2023, when the suspect visited the office of the headteacher at Logiri Girls Secondary School.
It is reported that Adame falsely claimed to be a staff member allegedly working for the Minister of State for Higher Education. He alleged that the Minister had sent him to the school to identify qualified teachers who were not on the payroll and those deserving promotions.
The suspect promised that these teachers would be appointed as headteachers, and the top four students in secondary school would receive government scholarships for university education.
Upon hearing this, the headteacher is said to have called for a staff meeting to relay the information. Subsequently, 31 teachers, 3 nurses and 1 lab attendant within the school became victims of the scam.
The suspect demanded Ugx 1,000,000 (KSh35,000) from each victim, promising that their demands would be met by the end of December 2023. The victims, desperate to improve their circumstances, gathered the money from their savings as well as micro-loans and handed it over to the suspect, who used it to enrich himself.
However, after receiving the funds, the suspect ceased communication with the head teacher, refusing to answer phone calls and eventually, switched off his mobile phone number 0784034045, raising suspicious that he had defrauded the teachers.
In total, the suspect defrauded money amounting to Ugx 35 million (approximately KSh1.23 million).
The police took swift action upon receiving the report. The suspect, Aja Victor Adame, was apprehended and is currently in custody. Statements from the victims and witnesses were recorded and an exhibit of Ugx 2,000,000 was recovered. The investigation into the matter is ongoing as the police seek to gather all necessary evidence.
“We encourage individuals who may have fallen victim to similar scams to come forward and report the incidents to their local police stations. We commend the swift action taken by the headteacher in reporting the incident, which led to the arrest of the suspect. The West Nile Regional Police Headquarters remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of all residents within the region,” police say.
