After spending nearly a week in cells, Edrine Bugaya has confessed to knowing Bahati Kisekka who orchestrated an armed mobile money robbery at Bwebajja cell, Kajjansi town council, on Entebbe Road, in Wakiso district.

Kisekka, last week attacked Maria Mbadiremu, a 28-year-old mobile money operator at around 11 pm using a pistol at a time when Bugaya was making a transaction. Kisekka pointed a pistol at Mbadiremu and Bugaya until the former succumbed to his demands and surrendered Shs 3 million cash.

At the time, Bugaya was also pleading for mercy from Kisekka feigning ignorance of the robbery. However, Mbadiremu later realized that she had ever seen the face of the robber. She also recalled having ever seen Bugaya walking together with the robber.

She alerted Bwebajja police suspecting that it was a connivance between Bugaya and Kisekka to rob her. Bwebajja police swung into action and arrested Bugaya who is a friend to Mbadiremu. Bugaya led police to Kisekka’s hideout located at Nadia Excel Recruitment Limited rented by one Aisha Nanyonga.

Bugaya and Kisekka have since confessed that they orchestrated the robbery together and the former’s mobile money transaction was a mere disguise.

“We knew that Maria closes her mobile money shop late in the night and we know she usually leaves with money. We agreed that since I am her friend, I would make a late transaction and Kisekka would come to rob us,” Bugaya is quoted by investigators.

Kisekka has also confessed but also accused Bugaya of hatching the plan because he knew all of Mbadiremu’s movements and the time she closed her mobile money shop.

“I didn’t know much about Maria but Bugaya knows her very well. He is the one who brought the idea and also planned how we were going to rob her when there are very few people in the night,” Kisekka reportedly said.

Fred Enanga, police spokesperson quoting the investigators’ report, confirmed that Bugaya and Kisekka are known to each other but the former used his closeness to Mbadiremu to disguise himself as a person who needed to make a transaction but their end goal was to rob her money.

“The response team established that Bugaya Edrine had conspired with Bahati Kisekka, the armed suspect. Exhibits of evidential value, which include; an unmarked pistol without a magazine, Shs 1.5m, a black jumper, hood, face masks, and mobile phones with supporting messages, were all recovered, from their known premises,” Enanga said.

Enanga said the pistol used in the robbery was smuggled from South Sudan by Kiseka who is aged 27, to facilitate their criminal enterprise.

Bugaya and Kisekka have been charged with possession of an illegal firearm, robbery and related conspiracies.