Woman arrested over personating late archbishop's family to obtain Shs1.5bn

A woman in Mbarara has been apprehended for assuming the identity of the deceased Mbarara Archbishop emeritus Paul K Bakyenga's biological daughter and embezzling more than Shs1.5 billion through deceit.

In a twist of shocking events a woman in Mbarara identified as Annah Asiimwe, 30, from Kakoba Division in Mbarara City, was on Monday arrested and arraigned before the Mbarara Magistrates Court.

The arrest follows an investigation by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and police.

It is alleged that Ms Asiimwe, between 2020 and 2022, obtained Shs1.5 billion from Jordan Ssendegeya by falsely pretending that she was going to transfer the property of her father the late Archbishop Bakyenga into his name.

According to a police statement, Asiimwe forged letters and documents that she took to companies that the late Archbishop Bakyenga was a shareholder that among others include the World Bank, MTN, several petrol stations and Ford motors.

"The suspect bravely and luckily was able to obtain signatures from these companies on her forged documents and by the time of her arrest, she had obtained money amounting to over Shs1.5 billion," Police said.

On January 16, 2023 Ms Asiimwe forged a letter of security confirmation addressed to Mr Ssendegeya purporting to have been issued and signed by Ms Mukami Kariuki, the World Bank Group country manager.

"Asiimwe, on the 17th day of August 2023 within Mbarara City, knowingly and fraudulently uttered a false document to wit," the charge sheet reads in part.

She also forged a letter of approval of activity review dated August 21, 2023, in the name and signature of Archbishop of Kampala Paul Ssemwogerere.

Ms Asiimwe faces the charges of obtaining money by false pretense and forgery.

Appearing in court on Monday, Asiimwe was formally charged and subsequently remanded until July 9, 2024.