Police on Monday announced in the media that city lawyer Paul Mugoya Wanyoto has been on the run over charges of extortion along with Siraje Bakaleke, former Regional Police Commander (RPC) Kampala South.
Emilian Kayima, the police publicist further announced that Wanyoto connived with Bakaleke to defraud three South Koreans of shs 1.4 billion.
The police boss who was transferred to Central Police Station (CPS) as the acting Commissioner of Police (CP) in the Political Education section of police, a position many perceive as a demotion faces three counts of extortion, unlawful detention and deportation of three Korean citizens who claimed to be investors.
The trio is Ha Dong Sua, Park Seunghoon and Jang Seungkwon.
Background
In early February, a group of five cops led by RPC Bakaleke arrested three Koreans and plotted for their swift repatriation having intercepted them at Acacia Mall in Kamwokya and ‘grabbed’ their bag that contained $400000 (approximately shs 1.4 billion).
These Koreans had gone to meet Paul Wanyoto, an advocate of the High Court who happened to be their legal adviser, this is according to the statements that made rounds.
Bakaleke and his horde of dirty cops who President Yoweri Museveni recently referred to as ‘Bean Weevil’ that infiltrated the establishment then repatriated the Asians back to South Korea.
However, TrumpetNews, through its investigations learnt that Mr. Wanyoto is a business partner of the three Koreans, and they got disagreements after the trio violated the initial plan and wanted to engage in Gold Smuggling.
The documentations obtained by this website proved that Wanyoto and the Koreans opened a mineral company Mckinley Resource Company Limited.
They opened a bank account in Diamond Trust Bank, one Korean and Mr. Wanyoto became signatories and operated the account independently.
Four of this mineral company mobilised funds to run operations. The cash raised totalled to $480000.
Betrayal
Whereas the quadruple then withdrew (after Koreans jetted into the country) $460000 to run the firm’s errands, the Koreans would later turn against Wanyoto throwing him out of the company.
They rejected to pay license and work permits but rather collaborated with Carlos Maraka, a Congolese who had been arrested in Afghanistan on terrorism charges.
The racket would use UN base in Congo and then Entebbe enroute Hong Kong.
A business disagreement ensued between Mr. Wanyoto and the Koreans, he withdrew their money handed it over to them and parted ways.
He later learnt Bakaleke arrested the Koreans who turned around and accused him of trying to fleece them their funds.
Mr. Wanyoto refuted the reports as Koreans referred to him as their lawyer and exposed their gold smuggling scheme.
Victim
Police, through senior officers of Flying Squad Unit and others from Kampala Metropolitan Command have since planned to involve Wanyoto in the scheme.
This website learnt that after exposing the racket, the Korean’s file disappeared from Katwe Police Station while police had repatriated these businessmen.
“They have since found ways of involving me in the scam,” Wanyoto said sometime back.
With all the means of fixing his name in the shs 1.4b scandal hitting a dead end, police resorted to announcing Wanyoto was on the run.
But on Tuesday he rubbished the claims directing police where his address, “I am an advocate of High Court, a member of Uganda Law Society and East Law Society. My address is plot 1 Acacia Kololo, if someone has summons you certainly know where to find me,” Wanyoto said.
Whereas Emilian Kayima, the police publicist, ‘advised’ Wanyoto to report to CID commander, KMP, he wondered who the complainant is.
TrumpetNews again understands that the Koreans have since initiated negations with Wanyoto to settle the disagreement which accrued while they were in Uganda.
The documents seen quantify that already the negotiation process has already kicked off.
One would therefore question of what interest is police If the position of the Company is a negotiated settlement.
“Because of what is at stake with the Company; who at Police is pushing a contrary agenda? These are civil disagreement s between shareholders,” questioned an observer.
Adding that, “ordinarily, if police’s intentions were genuine, they would have sent formal summons but why run to the media at every opportunity? Is it character assassination?”
It therefore emerges that Wanyoto is a victim of internal police rivalry among senior cops that had rocked the establishment quite a long time.