Olandason Wanyama
7 November 2008
Kampala — KARIMOJONG warriors recently foiled a ploy to rob Stanbic Bank Moroto branch. A gang that had parked at the bank premises at midnight faced the wrath of the warriors who demanded for their identity.
Paul Lokiru, a resident of Swahili Camp, said they had seen the saloon car with tinted windows in the town during the day.
"We alerted our friends and the security as we saw the policemen dozing," Lokiru said.
He said one of the thugs, armed with an AK47, took position in a dark spot, near Umeme offices, opposite the bank.
Other warriors said they had seen the vehicle as early as Thursday parked on Kitale Road, near the Los Angel Bar.
A Stanbic Bank official said he saw the car parked at around 6:30pm near the Automated Teller Machine (ATM).
Regional Police commander North Eastern, Okot Obwana said on Monday that the thugs had intoxicated the policemen who were guarding the bank, prompting action from the warriors who saw them weary.
Obwana, urged security personnel to take extra precaution as the festive season draws near.
The police guards who were intoxicated are currently receiving treatment in Moroto Hospital as investigations into the robbery attempt continued, Obwana said.
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This bank should now rightly belong to the workers of Uganda, whose life savings in the NSSF, were defrauded by the two NRM cabinet ministers. What was/is a minister of finance in charge of overseeing and regualting the banking industries doing selling and buying banks ? It is like having a fox guard the chicken coop. Now that the politicians have not uncharacteristically failed the workers, the workers should take the ministers Seruma and Mbabazi to a court of law which should refund the workers their money or in lieu take over the ownership of this bank if it is viable entity.
The injustice here is that the do-nothing NRM puppets in parliament and especially the opposition members didn't define this crime as broadly as it should have been. This is a crime of fraud that was ill-defined by the Parliament Committee investigating it, as simply a purchase of land, thus essentially trivialising the whole issue. The ministers had a motive, the means, and ample opportunity and time to commit this crime of fraud.
For those who need reminding the two NRM ministers: Seruma and Mbabazi together with Nigerians (legendary scam artists of all people) owned this Stanbic Bank. But the shrewed Nigerians wanted out of the deal by having their shares sold. The greedy minsters hatched a scheme to raise money as quickly as possible by brow beating and forcing the managers at NSSF - using their political clout and the presidency - to buy the minister's worthless piece of land that was not only inflated in terms of the price but also less in actual size or acreage.
Now that the truth has come out the workers should sue both Seruma and Mbabazi to recover the funds from NSSF, that they fraudulently took, stole or robbed. It is, as these corrupt minsters and their political NRM puppets think, NOT over yet.