Police have formally commenced investigations into the former Ugandan honorary consul of Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, Mr Quilino Bamwine, over allegations of obtaining $372,000 (about Shs1.3b) by false pretence in two botched land deals in Kampala.
Detective Senior Superintendent of Police Yona Kule, in a letter to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), said Mr Bamwine allegedly defrauded Joel Kakira. He said the contentious transaction involved land in Kololo and Naguru, both in Kampala.
Police summon Bamwine
‘This is to require Mr Bamwine Quilino to report to the D/CID) Kampala Metropolitan, Room 75 at Central Police Station Building, Kampala, on Thursday, October 30, at 10am to get your side of the story,’ Mr Kule’s letter dated October 21, reads in part.
Mr Vincent Bagiire, the MoFA Permanent Secretary, confirmed receipt of Mr Kule’s letter. ‘…we forwarded the summons to the former honorary consul,’ Mr Bagiire said.
Mr Bamwine’s appointment was revoked last month by the Eswatini ambassador and permanent representative to the African Union, Mr Mahlaba Mamba, who cited ‘allegations ranging from extortion, fraud, and a criminal land transaction.’
Mr Mamba said Mr Bamwine was alleged to have failed to respond to earlier warnings and continued to engage in alleged ‘illicit activities’ despite repeated interventions by Ugandan authorities.
Earlier, Mr Bagiire said they had received the complaints about Bamwine’s conduct and advised the alleged victims to route them through law enforcement agencies.
No diplomatic immunity
Mr Bagiire added that Mr Bamwine isn’t a diplomat, but an appointee of the Eswatini government as an honorary consul, and thus didn’t carry diplomatic immunity.
‘The principle is that no one enjoys diplomatic immunity in their own country. As such, honorary consuls are liable to arrest and prosecution should they offend the law,’ said Mr Bagiire.
Mr Mamba said government authorities and private individuals had filed ‘persistent complaints’ about Mr Bamwine’s behaviour, leaving the embassy with no option but to report the alleged misconduct to relevant authorities, including Uganda’s MoFA.
Efforts to get a comment from Mr Bamwine were futile as his number was unavailable.
Asked if Mr Bamwine had responded to the summons, Police Spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke referred this reporter to KMP deputy spokesperson, Luke Owoyesigire.
When contacted yesterday, Mr Owoyesigire said, ‘Get in touch with CID headquarters; they are the ones handling the matter now.”
Efforts to get a comment from CID were futile by press time yesterday.