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CID, DPP seek to build war chest to fight cyber crime
DPP Jane Frances Abodo with CID boss Tom Magambo during a conference at the CID head offices in Kampala on September 3, 2024. PHOTO | ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
- Many individuals have been arrested and prosecuted for allegedly disturbing the peace of political and traditional leaders, including President Museveni, Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, and Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi.
The Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) are seeking funds to combat the rising wave of cyber crime in Uganda.
Mr Tom Magambo, the Director of CID, highlighted the shift in criminal activities to cyberspace, emphasising the need for enhanced resources.
“Criminals have moved their activities to cyberspace. While we continue to use human intelligence and resources, we need force multipliers to handle this crime. This includes digitalising, building capacity, and improving databases to speed up investigations,” he said on Thursday at the CID headquarters in Kibuli.
Mr Magambo noted that CID is taking fraud cases, particularly those linked to pyramid schemes, seriously, and that joint investigations are underway to target individuals behind such scams.
“We take fraud very seriously. We are conducting joint investigations against groups fleecing money from unsuspecting investors. These groups operate in various ways, some involving external players, but we investigate every lead we get,” he added.
According to the 2023 Annual Crime Report, cybercriminals were responsible for significant financial losses in Uganda, with over Shs506 billion lost to mobile phone-related fraud. Many victims had funds withdrawn from their phones through digital transactions.
Mr Magambo called for President Museveni’s support to establish a database and analysis centre to better tackle the growing cyber crime threat.
Additionally, Uganda lost over Shs200 billion in corporate crimes, including financial loss, embezzlement, and bank fraud in the previous year.
This includes Shs94 billion lost to financial loss offenses and Shs87 billion lost to fraud in financial institutions.
High levels of fraud and weak laws led the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global organisation that combats money laundering and terrorism financing, to place Uganda on its grey list, indicating non-compliance with international standards.
Uganda has since reformed its laws, leading to its removal from the grey list this year.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Justice Jane Frances Abodo, said her office has also strengthened its cybercrime unit to better investigate online crimes.
“We have reinforced the cybercrime unit, which works closely with CID’s equivalent unit. These teams handle cases involving individuals misusing computers,” Justice Abodo said. She added that those who abuse others on social media will be investigated.
However, several human rights organisations have accused the police and ODPP of misusing the computer misuse laws to suppress press freedom and freedom of speech.
Many individuals have been arrested and prosecuted for allegedly disturbing the peace of political and traditional leaders, including President Museveni, Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, and Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi.
