By Guest Writer
The Chief Magistrate Court of Standard Utilities and Wildlife at Makindye yesterday sentenced Kato Umar to 4 years, 9 months and 9 days in prison for electronic fraud and theft involving more than UGX 370 million diverted from National Water and Sewerage Corporation’s Urban Pro-Poor program.
Delivering judgment in CRB 154 of 2023, the court said a 5-year sentence was appropriate for each count but deducted 2 months and 21 days Umar spent on remand before securing bail and after conviction. He will serve 4 years, 9 months and 9 days.
Umar was convicted on count one of electronic fraud contrary to sections 19 and 27 of the Computer Misuse Act, 2011, and on count three of theft contrary to sections 254 and 261 of the Penal Code Act Cap 120. The court handed down 4 years, 9 months and 9 days for each offence.
Her worship Kamasanyu Gladys ordered the sentences to run concurrently, meaning Umar will serve a single term from the date of sentencing. Concurrent sentences are typically imposed when offences arise from the same course of conduct.
He was acquitted on count two, unauthorized access, after court noted that Section 12 of the Computer Misuse Act, the basis of the charge, was repealed by the Court of Appeal.
Prosecution evidence showed that between August 2022 and February 11, 2023, Umar and accomplices still at large used an NWSC electronic vending machine at Mutungo, Luzira to unlawfully secure payments meant for Urban Pro-Poor beneficiaries.
The theft charge related to 2020, when Umar allegedly possessed an NWSC vending machine at Kampala Water’s Urban Poor office in Kisenyi without claim of right.
Umar denied all charges, prompting a full trial. The court found the prosecution proved electronic fraud and theft beyond reasonable doubt.
The Urban Pro-Poor program extends subsidized water services to low-income urban communities through electronic vending systems.
Legal analysts at Kampala Water say the judgment reflects continued enforcement of the cybercrime framework. The Computer Misuse Act, 2011 criminalizes unauthorized access, interception, and fraud involving computer systems and electronic financial transactions, and has been applied in cases involving system intrusion, SIM card fraud, and electronic transfer scams. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
