A road construction equipment that was stolen from a parking yard in Jinja was dismantled and sold off as scrap. The road unit comprising two skip loaders and a bulldozer, among others was stolen a month ago from the parking yard, where it had been grounded for months.
Following the incident, the police launched a general enquiry which led to the arrest of Jinja Deputy Town Clerk Peter Mawerere, among other technocrats over fraud and failure to safeguard government equipment. Further investigations also led to the arrest of the city’s Senior Law Enforcement Officer Denis Bimbona.
Bimbona was arrested from a hideout in Kisaasi, a Kampala Suburb where he was disguising as a hardware shop attendant. Although he initially denied the allegations, Bimbona has now confessed to having sold the equipment as scrap as spare parts to different motor vehicle repair garages within Jinja.
On Tuesday afternoon, Bimbona led a team of detectives to Kirinya road, a renowned hub for motor vehicle garages located within the Southern division leading to the recovery of some spare parts and scrap materials.
Kiira Regional Police Spokesperson James Mubi says that the recovered items have been marked as exhibits, which will aid the prosecution of all the suspects accused of involving themselves in the sale of government equipment. Bimbona is currently detained at Jinja Central Police Station.
Meanwhile, the Jinja Resident City Commissioner Darius Nandinda says that the city’s security committee is working with police authorities to verify information implicating civil servants in fraud URN
