The Ministry of Internal Affairs, immigration department has arrested a notorious UPDF officer Capt. Charles Asiimwe, 45, who has been unlawfully obtaining money from foreign business people doing small businesses in Kampala Metropolitan.
Asiimwe who have been masquerading as a UPDF Maj. was arrested last week at the internal affair Head Office when had gone to renew the visa for a Pakistan national which had expired in order to extend his stay in the country.
The immigration public relations officer Simon Peter Mundeyi while addressing journalist at Naguru based Police Headquarters said that the immigration has been tracing the culprit for long but they managed to arrest him after comparing CCTV Camera footage that helped them to identify the notorious Capt. Assimwe who has been for the last five years obtaining money from the foreign business people through threatening to arrest them for doing business here illegally.
“ Capt. Asiimwe has been masquerading in several different ways, after his arrest, our officers searched his car and recovered 3 different identity cards carrying his photograph were in one he called himself an officer of UNBS and the other two he called himself Heaney Luhikira the immigration officer working at Malaba border station and the other with his photograph is in the name of Alex Ahimbishibwe also our officer.’’ Mundeyi said.
He further said that from Asiimwe’s car they recovered a uniform similar to that of the immigration officers and when interrogated he said he was using that uniform to intimidate these foreigners with an intention of obtaining money from them.
He also said that last week in a single day Asiimwe collected a total of Ushs 13 million, five millions from a pharmacy owner at Luwumu Street, 4 one of the Super Markets in Mukono municipality and another four from Wandegeya Supermarket in Kawempe Division.
By the time of his arrest, Mundeyi said that he had so far collected over Ushs 100 million from the different foreign nationals and he has been eluding arrest because he was in most situations putting on a UPDF uniform with peeps of the rank of a major. He also said that such people fall victim of circumstances because they may be doing business her illegally.
In a related incidence, Kampala Metropolitan Police’s Deputy Spokesperson Luke Oweyesigire also said that they had registered other complaints reported by people whom Capt. Asiimwe had conned of money disguising as mobilizing of MK project.
He said that the suspect is now being kept at Jinja Road Police Station and since he is a serving UPDF officer, he will be handed in to the CMI who will decide which case to pen against him at the court martial.
Meanwhile Mudenyi informed reporters that over 288 citizens who had been applied for the diplomatic passports should write to the commissioner in charge of domestic revenue seeking a refund of their money they had paid for the passport because immigration couldn’t go ahead to process their passports for lack of qualification.
“ Acquisition of a diplomatic passport is designated under the law, not every citizen is free to get one because he or she is well off in terms of wealth.’’ Mundeyi cautioned.
He mentioned the type of citizens, who by law are entitled to the diplomatic passport and these, after the President and his vice, the Speaker of Parliament and his/her deputy, the prime minister, the religious heads, heads of cultural institutions which are recognised by government embassy workers at Uganda’s embassies regardless of their levels.
However, Mundeyi also told journalist the Minister of Foreign Affairs has the powers to authorise the issue of a diplomatic passport to a person whom government sends to a special duty abroad even he/she is regarded as an ordinary citizen.
By George Bukenya
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