A retired police officer has told the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court that 12 rolls of curtain material allegedly stolen from businessman Hajji Sulaiman Lwabuuka Kasule were recovered from a shop belonging to Kalungu East MP Yusuf Kiruuruta Junior Nkeretanyi.
The revelation came on Tuesday as retired Assistant Inspector of Police Joy Mary Nakku testified before Chief Magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa in the ongoing theft trial involving the legislator and four co-accused persons charged with handling stolen property.
Nakku, 59, who retired from the police force in August 2022, told court she was attached to the Special Investigations Division [SID] in Kireka and headed the team that investigated the alleged theft of curtain materials, rods and accessories valued at over Shs3 billion.
‘On January 20, 2022, I was allocated a file to investigate circumstances under which curtain materials with pipes and rods had been stolen from his stores [Hajji Lwabuuka],’ Ms. Nakku testified.
She said the complainant, Hajji Lwabuuka, reported that the thefts had occurred at his stores at Eagle Plaza in Kiyembe and at his residence in Bweya, Kajjansi.
According to Ms. Nakku, Hajji Lwabuuka told investigators he had gradually discovered that stock was disappearing from his business and later suspected that his wife, Shamira Nakachwa, had connived with his brother-in-law, Hamza Mugumuya, to steal the materials and sell them to traders in Kiyembe, Kampala.
‘He led us to some suspected traders at Eagle Plaza to whom the materials were sold,’ Ms. Nakku told court.
The witness said investigators subsequently conducted searches at various shops identified by the complainant.
‘He then led us to the shop of Nkeretanyi, where I conducted a search and recovered 12 rolls of curtain material,’ she testified.
Asked how the materials were identified, Nakku said both the complainant and Nkeretanyi claimed ownership of the recovered goods.
‘They were identified by the complainant, but Nkeretanyi also claimed ownership. We agreed, as a way of marking them, that both put their signatures on them,’ she said.
The marked rolls bearing signatures of Nkeretanyi and Hajji Lwabuuka have been displayed in court.
The witness added that search warrants documenting the recovery were signed by both parties.
Ms Nakku further told court that investigators searched another shop operated by businessman Mr Ivan Zziwa, and a subsequent search at another business premises linked to Abdul-Noor yielded five additional rolls of curtain material.
Following the recoveries, police arrested Nkeretanyi, Mugumuya, Abdul-Noor, Zziwa, Tamale John and others before taking them to SID headquarters in Kireka.
‘I took the recovered materials and arrested Nkeretanyi, Mugumuya Hamza, Abdul-Noor, Tamale John and Zziwa Ivan and took them to SID,’ she testified.
During the proceedings, Chief Magistrate Kidasa admitted the recovered curtain materials and related exhibit slips into evidence after ruling that the prosecution had established an unbroken chain of custody.
‘The unbroken sequence satisfies the requirement for chain of custody. Minor procedural irregularities do not break the chain of custody,’ the magistrate ruled.
Ms Nakku also told court that when questioned, Mr Nkeretanyi maintained that the curtain materials in his possession had been ordered from suppliers in Nairobi and China.
‘He told me he was ordering his materials on WhatsApp from Nairobi and China. He did not avail me any receipts or particular documents for the goods,’ she said.
The witness further testified that investigators visited Hajji Lwabuuka’s residence and established that CCTV cameras installed at the home were allegedly switched off whenever thefts occurred.
‘He suspected that his wife would switch off the cameras since the control system was in their master bedroom,’ Ms Nakku told court.
She also revealed that a child at the residence told investigators she had seen Mugumuya and Zziwa visiting the home in Lwabuuka’s absence and loading materials into vehicles after the stores had been opened.
Ms Nakku said Hajji Lwabuuka estimated the value of the stolen items at approximately Shs3 billion, although she retired before receiving the final audit report.
The case stems from allegations that curtain materials worth billions of shillings were systematically stolen from Hajji Lwabuuka’s stores and later sold to traders in Kampala.
Nkeretanyi, Nakachwa and their co-accused have denied the charges. The hearing continues on August 11.