Kampala man in court over Shs 815m SACCO heist, fake land deal

A Kampala business owner named Andrew Muhandiki faced a judge at Buganda Road Court over a major theft case. Prosecutors say he worked with others to steal over eight hundred million shillings from a teacher's savings group. The State House Anti-Corruption Unit, along with regular police detectives and the public prosecutor's office, brought the charges. They claim that back in May, Muhandiki and his crew made unauthorized withdrawals from the Uganda Liberal Teachers SACCO bank account.

The scam involved a phony contract for land development. Investigators say Muhandiki signed a fake service deal with the former bosses of the teachers' group. This contract said he was hired to develop a huge piece of land in Kyangwali, Hoima District. The problem is that this land does not actually exist. The old SACCO leaders had supposedly bought it for billions, but the whole thing was made up. This businessman is now linked to the same case as the cooperative's former chairperson and secretary. Those officials were already charged with misusing more than three and a half billion shillings. That money was part of a much larger fund from the president meant to help teachers nationwide. The court sent Muhandiki to prison until next January while the investigation continues.