Tourism Police Arrest Man Who Cons Tourists

A special unit with the Uganda Police Force created to fight crime in the tourism sector on Wednesday paraded a man his thirties who has been conning unsuspecting tourists of large sums of money and before abandoning them.

 

Lucky Bonarde Katebiire was arrested last week from his home in Kisaasi where he was operating an internet based unregistered company called Connect Hemisphere Safaris that he has been using to con tourists.

 

Detective Assistant Inspector of Police, Patience Kembabazi said Katebiire’s luck ran out on February 27 after a three year gruelling hunt for him.

 

Kembabazi says that Katebiire first conned Carole Liss of $ 1200 dollars in February 2012.

 

Carole Liss had paid money and was supposed to be picked from the Uganda – Rwanda border at Katuna but Katebiire did not show up leaving her stranded forcing her to report to police.

 

Later in August 2013, he conned an American called Louis Armstrong of $ 2100 dollars and offered him partial service before abandoning him too. Another American tourist Gregg Scott lost $ 3275 dollars to the same Katebiire and another Wilber Begumisa a tour operator lost 18 million shillings to the same person.

 

Kembabazi explained that Katebiire is part of a larger group of people who target tourists and con them by giving partial service or sell them forged gorilla permits.

 

She says that the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) was the only body authorised to deal in gorilla permits.

 

Kembabazi regretted the act saying people like Katebiire were costing government huge sums of money.

 

//Cue in: “It is the responsibility…

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Kembabazi said that it was taken them three years to arrest Katebiire because whenever they got where he worked from they would find him gone. She says they managed to make a break through with the help of the Association of Tour Operators.

 

Kembabazi said the evidence on record was enough to sustain the different charges they intend to bring against Katebiire.  Katebiire will be charged with obtaining credit by false pretence, theft, operating and unregistered company, cheating and forgery.