Businessman accused of impersonating Balaam jailed five months
Businessman Andrew Mark Asiimwe in the dock at Buganda Road Court in Kampala where he was charged with impersonation and electronic fraud. PHOTO/ ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Andrew Mark Asiimwe is accused of creating a Facebook account in the name of "Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi" and soliciting money for MK girl child project.
- During mitigation, Ms Nyamwiza asked court for a maximum sentence of two years which is provided for impersonation and a fine not exceeding 360 currency points (Shs7.2 million), arguing that it will send a message to hackers and computer wizards who have made it a habit to defraud unsuspecting Ugandans.
A 32-year-old businessman who was convicted of impersonating events promoter Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi and attempted electronic fraud has been sentenced to five months in prison.
Andrew Mark Asiimwe was convicted by the Standard, Utilities and Wildlife Court at Buganda Road in Kampala after confessing to the charges saying he sought to tap into MK project funds.
While sentencing Asiimwe, Grade One Magistrate, Sanura Nambozo held that the convict was remorseful and did not waste court’s time and therefore, a five-month sentence was appropriate for him to reform.
“I have considered the sickness of the convict and the fact that he has children to take care of. I have also considered the mitigating factors by the state that the offense which Asiimwe has been convicted of is rampant in the country which needs to be deterred from the would-be offenders from committing the similar offences,” Ms Nambozo ruled.
Prosecution led by Ms Judith Nyamwiza told court that Asiimwe between January and July 2023 in Kampala and Kasese districts with intent to defraud one John Twinomugisha falsely presented himself as Balaam by creating a Facebook account in the names of "Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi" and communicated to the said Twinomugisha claiming to be soliciting money for MK girl child project whereas not.
The state further said Asiimwe knowingly and deliberately attempted to solicit £49,000 from Twinomugisha with the intention of securing unfair or unlawful gain where part of a communication was sent through a computer network.
During mitigation, Ms Nyamwiza asked court for a maximum sentence of two years which is provided for impersonation and a fine not exceeding 360 currency points (Shs7.2 million), arguing that it will send a message to hackers and computer wizards who have made it a habit to defraud unsuspecting Ugandans.
However, Asiimwe asked for court’s lenience, arguing that he is a family man with full responsibilities before he sought a non-custodial sentence like community cleaning.
He further told court that he has keloid which swells whenever he shaves off the hair, yet prison authorities require men to shave off their hair.
According to court Asiimwe has been using a fake Facebook account in the name of Balaam defrauding gullible and unsuspecting members of the public in fake job opportunities in Canada and Germany, charging them what he calls registration fees, Interpol charges and visa fees.
Court further heard that Asiimwe, who referred to himself as a major promised to connect the unsuspecting members of the public to senior people in the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF), Special Forces Command (SFC) and Government for recruitment and placement in better positions.
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