High Court in Kampala has convicted a city businessman accused of defrauding a Danish couple of sh1.68b.
The High Court building in Kampala
Justice Albert Rugadya Atwooki convicted Edward Ddumba Muwawu for obtaining money by false pretense claiming that he was going to sell gold to Carstine Jespersten and Leaty Ssebowa between December 2010 and December2011.
The judge said all the ingredients of obtaining money by false pretense proved beyond reasonable doubt. Court deferred the sentence to August 6.
Muwawu was introduced to the couple by a man only identified as Egesa said to be a gold dealer; and thereafter they met at his (Muwawu) home in Naalya before proceeding to Masaka to see the gold.
On reaching Masaka, Muwawu went to his shrine and brought a wooden box said to have contained 70 kilogrammes of gold.
Court heard that when Ssebowa and Jespersen wanted to verify whether it was genuine gold, Muwawu refused saying they should not doubt the authenticity of the gold. The complainants returned to Kampala without finalizing the transaction but the convict continued calling the couple to finalize the transaction.
The complainants again went to Muwawu’s home in Naalya and negotiated the business deal and agreed that they would buy 25 kilogrammes of gold at sh520, 000 per kilogramme and the convict agreed to deliver the gold in Brussels. Muwawu also demanded that taxes be paid before the gold is transported.
When the time to deliver the gold came, Muwawu called the couple claiming the plane had landed at the wrong airport and that he needed more money. Leaty subsequently sent $4000 to Muwawu.
After the final negotiation of the deal, money totaling to sh1.68b was transferred through Western Union and other Forex Bureau and Muwawu received the money without delivering the gold.
Justice Rugadya said he was satisfied with the evidence of managers of Western Union and different Forex Bureau who testified in court about the transaction. All the documents indicating that Muwawu received money from the couple were tendered in court.
Justice Rugadya noted that Muwawu acted clandestinely and concealed information from the couple with clear intention to steal from them.
Muwawu denied having dealt in gold business with the couple. He said he only met the couple because they had a marital problem and sought his help concerning their marriage but not gold business.
By Edward Anyoli, The New Vision
