A group of four suspects in the alleged theft of 21,600 kilograms of coffee beans, valued at UGX 383 million, has been further remanded due to delays caused by the ongoing Second National Court Case Census.
The suspects include Katwe Police Station Crime Intelligence D/ASP Ali Katende, David Kihara Muthoni (28), Samuel Njeru (36), both Kenyan nationals, and Juma Musisi (28).
The remand extension was necessitated by the nationwide exercise, which commenced on Monday, January 13, and will run until January 15, 2025.
The census aims to document all pending cases in Ugandan courts as of January 12, in order to generate accurate data for guiding judicial reforms and improving service delivery.
However, this delay has temporarily stalled proceedings in several cases across the country.
Acting Mukono Chief Magistrate – Rehema Nassozi Ssebowa deferred the matter and sent them back to Luzira prison until January 20, 2024
Initially, the suspects pleaded not guilty to the charges and asked the court to grant them bail which was challenged by the prosecution. .
Prosecution led by Siratwa Basajjabalaba asked for additional time to review the sureties’ documents of the sureties, a request the magistrates granted.
According to the charge sheet, the heist occurred between July 3 and 4, 2024, when a truck, registration number KCD 177N/ZF 4760, transporting coffee beans belonging to Export Trading Company was diverted from its original route on the Kampala–Jinja highway to Kyetume along the Mukono–Katosi road.
The stolen coffee was offloaded onto another truck, registration number UAK 416C, which fled the scene. The diverted truck was later impounded and is currently being held as evidence.
Katende was arrested last month and detained at the railway police station for his alleged involvement in the heist, despite his duty to protect the cargo during its export.
The arrest came four months after the robbery, which is believed to have been orchestrated by a network of suspects, including the officer and several military personnel.
A source revealed that the truck carrying coffee was ambushed on the night of July 3, as it was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, after obtaining clearance from the Uganda Revenue Authority to export the beans.
The coffee was offloaded onto another truck, which was driven to a coffee factory linked to an Asian businessman in an industrial area in Kampala, where it was allegedly exported to India.
Initially, police in Mukono impounded the Kenyan truck, owned by David Kihora, which had been intercepted by the suspects, along with the Mercedes Benz box truck that transported the stolen coffee to the factory.
However, only the Kenyan truck, from which the coffee was offloaded, remains at Mukono Police Station’s parking lot.
The investigation began with the arrest of Kenyan truck driver Samuel Njero, who led police to Lameck Walakira, the driver of the Mercedes Benz box truck, which had transported the stolen coffee to the factory in the industrial area of Kampala.
Police report that Walakira led to the arrest of another suspect, identified only as Kigundu, who then directed the investigation team to the coffee factory in the Industrial Area, where two additional suspects, including the factory manager and a Human Resources officer, were apprehended.
During interrogation, factory workers revealed to investigators that the coffee was allegedly brought to the factory by Juma Musisi and another individual identified only as Hajji.
Further investigation uncovered CCTV footage from the route, showing a convoy of five cars linked to the crime, including a Toyota Noah, Toyota Premio, Mercedes Benz, and Toyota Sienta.
According to police, the registration numbers of these vehicles are now under investigation.
END
English 