ARUA – Police in West Nile have in custody a one Aja Victor Adame on allegations of fraud and impersonation. Aja, a 43-year-old Lugbara self-employed residing in Galuga Bukaya village, Katabi town council in Wakiso district is accused of conning teachers of Logili Girls School in Obichako village, Logiri sub-county, Arua district of Shs35 million after promising them government promotions.
Police say on January 16th, 2024 at approximately 1:00pm, they received a fraud and personation complaint by Apio Lillian Tako, a 54-year-old, school head teacher who says the suspect visited her office in September and claimed to be a staff member working for the Hon. 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 which was false. The suspect promised that these teachers would be appointed as head teachers, and the top four students in S6 would receive government scholarships for university education,” said Enanga Fred – Police Spokesperson.
This tempted the head teacher to call for a staff meeting to relay the information where 31 teachers, 3 nurses and 1 lab attendant within the school became victims of the scam.
“The suspect demanded Ugx 1,000,000 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 suspicion that he had defrauded the teachers. Consequently, the head teacher reported the matter to Arua Vurra Central Police Station, resulting in the registration of a case of obtaining money by false pretense amounting to Ugx35 million.”
Police encouraged individuals who may have fallen victim to similar scams to come forward and report the incidents to their local police stations.
