In the early 2000, a notorious scammer, Drake Twebaze rocked Kampala and it’s environs like an earthquake. In one of his alleged scams, Twebaze, who at the time slept in his personal bungalow located in Zzana along Kampala-Entebbe Highway, posed as a government Permanent Secretary, whereas not.
Under the cover of the said false identity, the deceptive Twebaze drafted a phony tender bid attributed to a government ministry, seeking for the purchase of motor vehicle tyres on behalf of that ministry. Done with the drafting of the fake tender bid documents, Twebaze dispatched the same to his victims who, unfortunately, surrendered the motor vehicle tyres under the mistaken belief that they were dealing with a genuine government Permanent Secretary, whereas not.
Fortunately enough, the Uganda Police laid a dragnet, harvested, charged and arraigned Twebaze before court, over charges of impersonation, forgery and obtaining money by false pretenses. During the subsequent trial conducted by Buganda Road Chief Magistrate then, Betty Munaaba, the suspect stunned court when he expertly cross-examined prosecution witnesses, just like a seasoned defence lawyer.
Be that as it may, Munaaba ultimately convicted Twebaze after she memorably remarked that though he acted cleverly, he committed the charges which the State slapped against him. Now, following a considerable period of time which he had spent lying as low as an envelope, after being arrested several times in the past, Twebaze recently stepped out of his underworld and resumed his fraudulent activities from where he had previously stopped.
His latest victim was an investor whom he allegedly defrauded of USD146,000 woth, based on an impure gold transaction misrepresented as a pure one. Fortunately, the security agencies, led by the State House Anti-corruption Unit (SHACU) headed by Maj. Gen Henry Isoke, swung into action and rounded up Twebaze and his accomplices.
Right now, the suspects are in the safe hands of the prison services after a magistrate in town rejected to admit them to bail and instead remanded them for a fortnight. The latest criminal charges is a warning that Twebaze’s criminal cartel is still alive and kicking, and just waiting for an opportunist time to conduct more fraudulent activities.
The latest round of charges serve as a wake-up call to the members of public to be on the look out going forward, short of which Twebaze’s cartel will potentially catch them unaware. From his earlier criminal exploits and court experiences, Twebaze likely learnt lessons and now returns as a more sophisticated scammer than he was in the past, to once more conduct his fraudulent activities.
His return calls for extra vigilance from the relevant government security agencies to curb his potential criminal activities. Finally, the security agencies will need going forward to get to the bottom of Twebaze’s cartel once and for all to save his potential innocent victims psychological torture triggered by loss of their hard-earned funds.
Author Profile
- Mr. Stephen Kasozi Muwambi is a seasoned crime investigative writer, majoring in judicial-based stories. His two decades’ experience as a senior investigative journalist has made him one of the best to reckon on in Uganda. He can also be reached via [email protected]
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