Archival Sense
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- Dec 16, 2025
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A 31-year-old housewife has been sentenced to six months in prison for her role in an attempted bank fraud involving Shs725 million after entering a plea bargain and agreeing to testify against her co-accused.
Elizabeth Mbabazi was on Thursday convicted and sentenced by the Chief Magistrate of the Buganda Road Court, Ritah Kidasa, after she admitted to all charges related to the attempted theft at Stanbic Bank Uganda.
The court ordered that her six-month sentence run concurrently, taking into account the five months and 13 days she had already spent on remand.
“Having accepted responsibility for her actions, the court hereby sentences you to six months’ imprisonment, which shall run concurrently,” ruled Chief Magistrate Kidasa.
Immediately after the sentencing, Mbabazi testified as a state witness against her co-accused, giving a detailed account of how she was recruited into the alleged fraud scheme and the events that led to her arrest.
In her testimony, Mbabazi told court that before her arrest, she was a housewife who also sold scholastic materials, commonly known as black books, from her home. She said she only knew one of the accused persons, Flower Njawuzi, whom she met through her book-selling business, and that she met the other accused for the first time on the day of the alleged offence.
Mbabazi testified that Njawuzi lured her into the scheme by promising her easy money from what was described as a charitable account funded by pastors abroad.
After weeks of communication, Mbabazi said she met Njawuzi in Buddo, and they later traveled to Busega and then to Mengo, where they met other individuals allegedly involved in the operation.
She told court that on October 3, 2025, she was taken to a fuel station where she met Joel Mucunguzi and Faridah Kobusingye, who arrived with a black bag containing documents. She said she was later given documents including a national identity card bearing the names of Enid Kukunda and instructed to go to the bank and present them.
Mbabazi said she was told to hand over the documents to a bank official at Stanbic Bank’s Acacia Mall branch, but shortly after submitting the documents, security personnel intervened and detained the group before police were called.
She told court that the group did not succeed in withdrawing the money and that she had been promised Shs10 million for her role if the transaction had gone through.
According to the prosecution, Mbabazi and her co-accused allegedly forged a Stanbic Bank withdrawal slip and a national identity card purportedly issued by the National Identification and Registration Authority in the names of Enid Kukunda. The group is accused of attempting to withdraw Shs725 million from Stanbic Bank by impersonating the account holder.
Following Mbabazi’s conviction, the trial will continue against the remaining accused, including Kobusingye, Njawuzi and Mucunguzi, who denied the charges and have been remanded until April 13 as the hearing of state witnesses continues.
(photo courtesy of Daily Monitor)
Elizabeth Mbabazi in court.
Elizabeth Mbabazi was on Thursday convicted and sentenced by the Chief Magistrate of the Buganda Road Court, Ritah Kidasa, after she admitted to all charges related to the attempted theft at Stanbic Bank Uganda.
The court ordered that her six-month sentence run concurrently, taking into account the five months and 13 days she had already spent on remand.
“Having accepted responsibility for her actions, the court hereby sentences you to six months’ imprisonment, which shall run concurrently,” ruled Chief Magistrate Kidasa.
Immediately after the sentencing, Mbabazi testified as a state witness against her co-accused, giving a detailed account of how she was recruited into the alleged fraud scheme and the events that led to her arrest.
In her testimony, Mbabazi told court that before her arrest, she was a housewife who also sold scholastic materials, commonly known as black books, from her home. She said she only knew one of the accused persons, Flower Njawuzi, whom she met through her book-selling business, and that she met the other accused for the first time on the day of the alleged offence.
Mbabazi testified that Njawuzi lured her into the scheme by promising her easy money from what was described as a charitable account funded by pastors abroad.
After weeks of communication, Mbabazi said she met Njawuzi in Buddo, and they later traveled to Busega and then to Mengo, where they met other individuals allegedly involved in the operation.
She told court that on October 3, 2025, she was taken to a fuel station where she met Joel Mucunguzi and Faridah Kobusingye, who arrived with a black bag containing documents. She said she was later given documents including a national identity card bearing the names of Enid Kukunda and instructed to go to the bank and present them.
Mbabazi said she was told to hand over the documents to a bank official at Stanbic Bank’s Acacia Mall branch, but shortly after submitting the documents, security personnel intervened and detained the group before police were called.
She told court that the group did not succeed in withdrawing the money and that she had been promised Shs10 million for her role if the transaction had gone through.
According to the prosecution, Mbabazi and her co-accused allegedly forged a Stanbic Bank withdrawal slip and a national identity card purportedly issued by the National Identification and Registration Authority in the names of Enid Kukunda. The group is accused of attempting to withdraw Shs725 million from Stanbic Bank by impersonating the account holder.
Following Mbabazi’s conviction, the trial will continue against the remaining accused, including Kobusingye, Njawuzi and Mucunguzi, who denied the charges and have been remanded until April 13 as the hearing of state witnesses continues.
(photo courtesy of Daily Monitor)
Elizabeth Mbabazi in court.
