Doctor, lab tech attempt to defraud Turkish investor of $4.9m

Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s court has remanded four suspects to Luzira prison on charges of attempting to defraud a Turkish investor of $4.9 million (approximately Shs 17.5 billion).

The accused, Dr Charles Mulyansaka, a resident of Kitala-Entebbe, Moses Mwesigwa, Moses Seruma, and Peter Watum allegedly impersonated officials from the Office of the President, claiming to be members of a non-existent ‘Special Contracts Committee.’

The quartet appeared before chief magistrate Ronald Kayizzi on Monday and was charged with forgery, uttering false documents, electronic fraud, and attempted felony. Prosecution told the court that the suspects used forged documents to contact Furkan Gumran, a Turkish businessman based in Dubai.

They reportedly convinced him that he had secured a $4.9 million contract through Uganda’s ministry of Energy to supply “Bloom,” a chemical used in fuel purification. Lured by the prospects, Furkan travelled to Uganda but grew suspicious after the group kept changing meeting venues, from parliament to AHA Towers in Nakasero.

Acting on the advice of a trusted associate, Furkan reported the matter to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, which laid a trap and arrested the suspects at AHA Towers last week.

In court, it was revealed that Mulyansaka, a medical practitioner, posed as the chairman of the fictitious committee, Mwesigwa, as laboratory technician, claimed to be the director of pocurement, Seruma introduced himself as the IT and communications officer while Watum, a civil engineer, acted as the committee’s secretary.

All four suspects denied the charges and were remanded to Luzira prison until August 11, 2025, as investigations continue. Cases involving the defrauding of foreign investors are common in Uganda, particularly in Kampala, where victims often lured by bogus gold deals have been swindled by fraudsters allegedly operating in connivance with unscrupulous lawyers.

To address this growing concern, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni established the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, currently headed by Col. Edith Nakalema, to handle investor-related complaints. Similarly, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo, recently set up a dedicated unit for investor-related crimes, now overseen by chief state attorney Jonathan Muwaganya.