By Mulengera Reporters
At a recent court appearance, ex-Agule County MP in Pallisa Francis Mukula was in a flamboyant mood as he addressed reporters moments after Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) lawyers had secured a conviction against Ernest Edengel, a primary school teacher who for years defrauded people in Teso sub region and stole in his name.
A jubilant Mukula, who couldn’t even stand for elections in 2026 because of the extent to which Edengel had destroyed his name, spoke in the Court compound moments after the trial Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu had just convicted and sentenced Egendel.
Barely 30, the primary school teacher had been on trial since his arrest on 6th March 2025. He was harvested by Police detectives attached to UCC from Busika town council in Luwero district where he was hiding at a primary school where he had been employed to teach months earlier.
In his possession were 10 simcards including two which he had been using to defraud jobs and scholarships’ seekers, while holding himself out to be Hon Francis Mukula whereas not.
Prosecutors from UCC showed Court that Edengel had committed the offences (using simcards registered in the names of Francis Mukula to obtain money from desperate widows and orphans) between September 2024 and February 2025 when he was finally apprehended in a UCC-coordinated Police operation.
On being confronted by his own voters who were seeking to be updated on the jobs and scholarship opportunities he was supposed to have promised them earlier upon paying their hard-earned money, Hon Mukula realized that a group of fraudsters, coordinated by Edengel, had been committing mischief in his name.
“I asked them which jobs are you talking about and that’s how I got to learn of what had been happening. I contacted Hon Nyombi Thembo [a former workmate at Parliament who now heads UCC] who gave me a team of his staff who helped me to track down that man,” Mukula said. “It was too late though because my name had already been damaged and that’s how I decided not to bother standing because I stood no chance. The victims realized it wasn’t me and that they had indeed been defrauded. I thank them for their resilience and more so those who cooperated with UCC prosecutors to give evidence in Court.”
Hon Mukula explained that households got ruined because many of them had to sell goats and cows besides taking out loans from SACCOs in order to raise the money under the impression it was the real him they were dealing with.
Many were paying for teaching and health workers’ jobs which Edengel, holding himself out to be Honorable Mukula, promised to get for them through his connections at Kampala-based Health and Education Service Commissions. Others, especially widows, paid for scholarships for their children which the fake Hon Mukula promised to get for them.
The victims included Sindika Rose from whom Edengel extorted Shs1m to get scholarships for her children. The other was Peter Osron from whom Shs800,000 was extorted in return for a teaching job which never materialized and Daniel Oyet, who parted with Shs450,000 for the agricultural officer’s job which never came.
The simcard used to make phone calls to negotiate the payments was registered in the names of Francis Mukula and the one on which victims would be guided to send the money was registered in the names of James Ojangole.
UCC investigations established that Edengel used tricks to get the line from a young man called Francis Mukula of Pallisa whose names were exactly similar to the former area MP’s. Even Ojangole’s simcard was obtained by the same fraudulent primary school teacher using tricks.
“This is a lesson to all of us explaining why whenever you lose or misplace your simcard, you should report to the authorities for the same to be de-activated otherwise wrong people can use it to commit crimes and put you in big problems,” Dr. Abdul Salaam Waiswa who heads litigation, prosecution & legal advisory services at UCC told reporters after the court session.
Waiswa added that it’s prudent for every Ugandan to dial *197# followed by their NIN number to establish which numbers are operating out there and are registered in their names in order for the same to be reported for deactivation in case of fraudulent activities.
Hon Mukula thanked the Utilities, Standards & Wildlife Court Chief Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu for the deterrent sentence that was given to Edengel. He described the three years’ imprisonment that was handed down as appropriate given the fact that Edengel proudly wasted Court and prosecution’s time for almost year instead of immediately pleading guilty because he knew what he had done.
“He only pleaded guilty after prosecution had brought many witnesses who he humiliated during cross-examination yet he knew he was guilty. The hearing of the case had been concluded and the case was only pending delivery of judgment. It was prudent that he was given a custodian sentence of not less than three years,” Hon Mukula told reporters outside the Magistrate’s chambers.
Edengel, who will have to serve three years minus the 10 months he had spent on remand (March 2025 to January 2026), had been charged with 12 counts including obtaining money by false pretense which is an offence under the Penal Code Act, committing fraud upon a person which is an offence under UCC licensing regulations & using another person’s simcard for unlawful purposes.
The Magistrate stated that Edengel willfully targeted unsuspecting members of the public and poor widows/orphans who had to borrow from SACCOs to meet his menacing demands and because of that, he deserved severe sentencing. The Magistrate also reflected on the cost Edengel’s actions caused to Hon Francis Mukula to the extent of fearing to seek reelection in 2026 because his reputation had been bruised beyond repair.
The Magistrate also faulted him for falling short of the high moral and exemplary status expected of the professional teacher Edengel claimed to be. The Magistrate hoped that the custodial period in Luzira will help Edengel to reflect on his criminal past and become a better person prepared to earn from his sweat as opposed to victimizing poor widows and orphans.
However, the Magistrate disallowed the request of the state, as represented by prosecutors from UCC, to require and order Edengel to pay back the money to restore his victims because this would be in futility since he won’t be able to earn any money to pay back since he is going to be locked up in Luzira.
This notwithstanding, Hon Mukula was full of praises for the Magistrate and the UCC lawyers as he triumpantly declared before media cameras: “Man reaps what he sows. Edengel couldn’t have done so much evil targeting the society’s most vulnerable not just in Teso but in much of rural Teso sub region and expect a better ending. He deserves to rot in jail, which is why I thank the Magistrate and UCC lawyers for a job well done.” (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
