Police have arrested two men — a foreign national and a boda-boda rider — for allegedly staging a fake bomb scare at a commercial bank in Lubowa, Wakiso District, in a bid to extort money.
The incident happened on Tuesday evening at the entrance of Absa Bank and Guild Forex Bureau, both located inside Quality Supermarket.
According to police, the boda-boda rider, identified as Madi Muteta, 30, was handed an envelope by the foreign suspect to deliver to the two financial institutions.
When staff opened the envelopes, they found threatening letters claiming that a pipe bomb had been planted at the entrance. The letters demanded more than Shs 630 million in ransom, broken down as $120,000, £20,000, €20,000, and Shs 30 million.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango confirmed the incident, noting that the bomb threat turned out to be a hoax.
“The culprit is yet to provide his details, but everything is being done to establish his motivation,” Onyango said.
CCTV footage from the supermarket helped investigators trace the vehicle allegedly used by the foreign suspect to pass the envelopes to Muteta. The vehicle, a UAV 462V, has been impounded.
Muteta told police he was paid Shs 20,000 to deliver the letters and insisted he had no knowledge of their contents, thinking it was simply a quick errand.
Police say while the threat was false, investigations are ongoing to establish the motive behind the act and the identity of the foreign suspect.
