The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Internal Affairs in collaboration with intelligence and investigations agencies have launched a hunt for two fraudsters who have fleeced Ugandans of sh934 million in an Israel job scam.
According to information received at the anti-human trafficking department at the ministry, 43 Ugandans have each been fleeced 22 million shillings on promises of securing well-paying jobs in Israel.
Investigators say Jackline Mbulateire and Andrew Sekimuli operate a fraudulent online tours and travel company, Akia Guest Tours Limited which they have often utilized to claim that they are external job recruiters for Israel government and also offer the same services for other countries in Europe.
According to online details, Akia Guest Tours Ltd is located near Lubaga Cathedral but crime intelligence and detectives have failed to locate its premises. Both covert and overt personnel have failed to identify the exact building near Lubaga Cathedral where Akia Guest Tours Ltd is located.
Internal Affairs Spokesperson, Simon Peter Mundeyi, said security agencies have been involved to hunt for Mbulateire and Sekimuli after the 43 Ugandans fleeced of 943 million went to the ministry’s offices crying and seeking for assistance in order to recover their money.
“These people were promised to get lucrative jobs in Israel where they would be earning 22 million shillings every month. In order to get the jobs, the fraudsters asked them to pay 22 million shillings each and later on disappeared. We have tried to search for these premises but they are nowhere to be seen at Lubaga Cathedral,” Mundeyi said.
Security investigations have revealed that Mbulateire was acting as manager of Akia Guest Tours Ltd while Sekimuli indicated he was one of the founders. Crime intelligence and detectives have also unearthed that Sekimuli recently acquired a US Visa and probably plans to run out of the country.
“We have put Sekimuli and Jackie’s pictures in every system to ensure they are arrested and they do not escape their criminal activities. We are searching for them and we have notified our teams to be on high alert,” security indicated.
Due to the ongoing war in Gaza where Israel since October 7, 2023 has carried out scaled weaponry assault on Hamas, some dubious people have been circulating false job opportunities indicating that young, bodied and energetic youths are needed to be employed as part of fighters.
Also, the fraudsters claim that professionals such as doctors, engineers, IT and Computer scientists are on high demand. Similar schemes came up when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and some Ugandans again fell victim to the fraudsters.
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