A 33-year-old woman has been charged and remanded to Luzira prison for impersonating a Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) engineer and defrauding a born-again church of Shs700 million.
Kampala businesswoman Ritah Namalwa appeared before grade one magistrate Andrew Katurubuki at Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court, where she faced four charges: theft, personation, forgery, and uttering false documents. Namalwa denied all charges.
The prosecution alleges that between 2020 and 2024, Namalwa and accomplices, who are still at large, stole $86,000 and Shs374 million from Dunamis Media and Prayer Palace ministry in Kampala’s Nakawa Division.
In a separate count, Namalwa is accused of falsely presenting herself as an engineer and personal assistant to the UCC executive director with the intent to defraud.
The charges further detail that Namalwa and her associates forged several UCC tax invoice numbers and a UCC business card under her name, falsely claiming the title of Engineer and PA to the ED.
The case also involves the fraudulent use of fake UCC tax invoices and receipts purporting to have been signed by the UCC executive director. Namalwa has been remanded until her next court appearance on September 21, when the trial magistrate will take over the case.