Ugandan conman found guilty

Sharon Mathala | Friday January 10, 2014 15:46

Ntuyo, charged on six counts of obtaining by false pretences, had earlier promised to help the state locate the five missing co-accused.

Ntuyo together with Abbey Kiberu Mubiru, Serwanga John Francis, Abassi Kalyango, Mark Adams Bbale and Kimuli Mubaraka were charged with orchestrating to obtain by false pretences from Selinah Lekwape and Tshwanelo Kitsiso, whom were swindledP68,000. Ntuyo was however charged only on matters relating to Lekwape’s case as Kitsiso admitted that she gave money to other suspects.

The court heard that on May 6, 2012, Kitsiso called the accused persons after seeing their advert in a local newspaper, and meet up with crew at Choppies Middle Star in Gaborone. She then went with them to a residential plot in Partial for ‘consultations’. On May 15, 2012 Lekwape also contacted the same group and underwent similar process.

Although they went on different occasions, the court heard that the consultations took place in the same room. The walls of the room where covered with curtains and the door was covered with a blanket leaving the room dark so much that one could not see clearly. The victims were then instructed to write down the names of their forefathers.

The court also heard that at one point they were introduced to a voice described by the accused as that of their ancestors. The ‘voice’ spoke to them on different occasions but was similar in what it said and offered.

They having fallen prey to the accused person’s wits set out to look for money for ‘gifts for the ancestors’; so on May 28 2012, Lekwape gave the accused P4,800 as down payment for the P15,000 demanded. On June 20 she gave them another P 2,000 and lastly P12,000 totaling to P18,800 in all.

Kitsiso also falling prey to the same scheme parted with P30,000 on May 17, and another P20,000 on June 15, as part of the ‘cleansing ceremony’.

The courts established that the accused knew that ancestors did not demand any monies from the victims and that the accused had no legal justification for acting as he did.

During mitigation Ntuyo asked the court to be lenient in judgement as he is the only breadwinner at home and is taking care of his blind mother and children.

“I have two families, one in Uganda where I have eight children and two wives, and one in South Africa where I have a wife and two children, all of which I am taking care of financially,” said Ntuyo.

Sentencing has been set for January 22.