Seven young men accused of violently robbing a Kampala forex bureau operator of 620 million shillings have been remanded to Luzira Prison by the Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court.
The suspects, aged between 18 and 30, appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko on a charge of aggravated robbery linked to the theft of cash belonging to Economic Exchange Forex Bureau.
The accused are Ashiraf Mulindwa of Kyebando Kabulengwa in Wakiso District, Akid Khalid, a boda boda rider from Naluvule Village, Muhammed Kayiira, a farmer from Kasekere Village, Tamim Kawaganya, Ivan Ongom, a marketer from Kira Municipality, Ismail Maso Kasozi of Matuga Ward, and Ivan Gizamba, a hawker from Nabweru Municipality.
Court heard that the group allegedly attacked Gisma Zulaika Hussein on March 26, 2026, near Centenary Bank’s Nkrumah Road Branch in Kampala and stole a black backpack containing 620 million shillings.
According to prosecution, the suspects were armed with dangerous weapons, including pangas, during the robbery. Because aggravated robbery is a capital offence, the accused were not allowed to enter pleas before the magistrates court, as such cases are only triable by the High Court.
State Attorney Grace Amy informed court that investigations into the matter are still ongoing and requested more time to complete inquiries.
The magistrate consequently remanded all seven accused to Luzira Prison until June 15, 2026, when the case will return to court for mention.
The latest prosecution adds to a series of major financial crime cases recently handled at Buganda Road Court involving commercial banks and electronic fraud syndicates.
Last month, the same court remanded eight suspects accused of orchestrating a cyber fraud scheme that allegedly siphoned 6 billion shillings from Finance Trust Bank.
Prosecution in that case alleges that the suspects illegally accessed the bank’s core banking system and diverted funds to more than 130 mobile money accounts registered on MTN and Airtel networks.
Among those charged were Travies Nakabbunge, Ernest Mulindwa alias Abbas, Robert Kaweesi, Robert Kisitu alias Digital, Nicholas Ssekyanzi, Sister Kyoheirwe, Doreen Nantale alias Vanesa, and Amos Lyada.
In another case handled by the court in 2025, four individuals were charged over an attempted fraudulent withdrawal of 725 million shillings from a Stanbic Bank account belonging to Enid Kukunda.
One of the accused in that case, Rwandan national Elizabeth Mbabazi, was later convicted.
Separately, boda boda rider George Byaruhanga was also remanded after allegedly impersonating a customer and using forged national identification documents to fraudulently withdraw more than 332 million shillings from Centenary Bank through biometric registration and mobile banking transactions.
Buganda Road Court has in recent years increasingly dealt with complex financial crime prosecutions involving cyber fraud, identity theft, mobile money transfers and large-scale bank theft schemes.
English 