Kampala — THE Police are investigating a financial scam in which people in Busoga region lost about sh5b to Dutch International, an NGO.
Directors of the organisation that has been operating on Visva Mall on Lubas Road in Jinja town allegedly disappeared recently with their customers' deposits, weeks after another organisation, TEAM, also based in Jinja, cheated customers of sh3b.
Meeting the affected customers at Main Street Primary School in the town on Sunday, James Ocen from the economic fraud squad at the CID headquarters in Kampala, said two of the directors had been arrested.
Sources said those in Police custody in Kampala are Nixon Balikoowa, the chairman of Dutch International and Mudasiru Mafabi, the eastern regional coordinator. Others, including the organisation's secretary, Andrew Kaggwa, are still on the run.
"They will be produced before court and we shall strive to recover your money.
Be patient; we are doing everything possible so that you don't lose your money," Ocen told the angry residents.
He said when the Police opened the safe at the organisation's offices, only $136 (about Sh 251,600) was recovered.
The victims have formed a 15-member task force headed by David Isanga, to consult stakeholders for a solution. The taskforce is organising a peaceful demonstration, which will end at Parliament, where they will hand a petition to the Speaker.
Isanga, who said they were compiling a list of the victims and the amounts lost, said it was expected that the highest amount lost by an individual was over sh100m. He said Dutch International, which opened in Jinja about two years ago, had an estimated 4,000 customers.
Another member of the task force, identified as Luzze, said a person was required to pay $75 (sh138,750) as membership fee, while a 'five-star' member, which most of them were, would pay sh898,000, from which they were promised to receive sh210,000 monthly.
During the meeting, members strongly criticised area local leaders, saying they had done little to assist them. They also accused the Government of siding with criminals.
"The people who cheated us are always driving in town but instead of arresting them, they have been armed. Our leaders were also part of Team and Dutch," they said.
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I would like to re eco chalse kakamwas post on the! 12th Nov 2008 that appeared in the Newvision with the heading Police Probe Money Scam in Busoga Its coming to three years since the TEAM and Dutch international Ltd misquandled over shs 5b from an estimate of over 4,000 residents in Busoga region but very little has been done by the government to help the residents recover their money. The residents feel so neglected by the government and yet the banks are freely selling off their properties to service the loans they have failed to pay due to the huge loss. What was not put into account were the different entities that surrounded the deposits made by the residents . Over 60% of the deposits were bank loans that the residents took hopping to make business with the TEAM and Dutch International Ltd as a form of investment. However when the two organizations closed down abruptly ,the residents were not so much helped except for the notables like Judith Nabakoba the police Spokesperson and the Jinja RDC Bagonza Christopher who among many other leaders had also deposited money in the organization but had their money refunded .What about the common Man Terror is now manifesting in Jinja since the residents are facing it rough with the banks to pay off their loans which have since been accumulating while they hoped that the government would intervene immediately and help them settle the dispute by compensating them perhaps. Its unbelievable and the residents are left open mouthed while the banks come around to auction their houses with the police help and are well protected by the state laws and yet when they (residents) lost the money, no protection for property and incomes were exhibited by the state. Many government officials have since then advised them to wait that the matter was being processed not knowing that the interest on their loans wont wait. There is need for an immediate intervention in the matters of Jinja residents before issues get out of hand. Its worth remembering that a few arrests were made including Nixon Balikoowa, the chairman of Dutch International and Mudasiru Mafabi, the eastern regional coordinator, however the residence unanimously agree that justice has not been smelt at all, Many other people who were well known to be apart of Dutch international are freely driving vehicles in town yet the common man continues to suffer as their houses ,land and property is being auctioned daily just to service the ghost loan payments in banks. Its therefore worth noting that the government did little to help the residents of Jinja at such trying times of the economic recession. President Museveni recently still promised to handle the issue within six months but still the interest on the loans wont wait. I hope that re-echoing this massage will assign a greater responsibility to the concerned to help the residents for surely we are looking forward to having a kind of government that can protect its people and their property. We look forward to recovering all the money that was lost in TEAM and Dutch International Ltd which is believed to have been owned by a Ugandan Living in America. Kakaire Wilber MUK BIT III