A 27-year-old man has been arrested in Kakumiro District after allegedly faking the death of his child and placing a banana sucker in a coffin in an attempt to defraud his family of burial money. The suspect, Nicholas Mutegeki, a resident of Kiyora Village in Bugambe Sub-county, Kikuube District, is accused of staging the elaborate deception after his father declined to send him Shs350,000 for funeral expenses.
According to information obtained by Uganda Radio Network (URN), Mutegeki called his father, Kato Kabaleega, a resident of Kyekaado Cell in Kisiita Town Council, Kakumiro District, on June 15, 2026, claiming that his child had died. He allegedly asked his father to send Shs350,000 to transport the body to Kakumiro for burial arrangements.When the father refused, Mutegeki is said to have wrapped a banana sucker in cloth, placed it in a coffin and transported it to his father’s home, claiming it contained the child’s body. The deception unraveled when mourners insisted on viewing the body before burial. Mutegeki reportedly resisted, raising suspicion among those gathered.
The mourners forcibly opened the coffin and discovered there was no body inside—only a banana sucker wrapped in cloth. Realizing he had been exposed, Mutegeki allegedly fled and went into hiding. His sister, Irene Mutegeki, said the family and mourners were left stunned by the discovery.
Wilson Katabazi, an elder in Kyekaado Village, urged parents to verify distress calls from children living away from home before sending money.
Kisiita Town Council LCIII Chairperson Aston Tumushabe condemned the incident and urged young people to seek honest livelihoods instead of resorting to fraud. Albertine Region Police spokesperson Julius Hakiza said police, working with residents, launched a manhunt after the incident and arrested Mutegeki on Sunday while he was hiding in a nearby bush.
He is currently being held at Kakumiro Central Police Station and has been charged with creating a public nuisance. The arrest comes barely a month after police in Hoima arrested two young men accused of staging their own kidnapping in an alleged attempt to extort Shs2 million from their relatives.
The suspects, John Bosco Tumukunde, 20, and Ian Ajuna, 20, both residents of Kikerege Village in Hoima District, reportedly disappeared from their homes on June 23 before calling family members a day later, claiming they had been kidnapped and that their captors were demanding ransom.
Police investigations later established that the kidnapping had been fabricated. The pair was traced to a grass-thatched house in Kinogozi Village, Buhimba Sub-county in neighbouring Kikuube District, where they were arrested. Investigators said the two later confessed to orchestrating the scheme-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
