Three money lenders are regretting their actions behind bars after Lira RCC Lawrence Emmy Egole ordered their arrest.
In a statement issued by the police spokesperson for the North Kyoga Region, SP Jimmy Patrick Okema, on Tuesday, the territorial police in Lira City West Division are holding three suspects for the illegal possession of numerous National Identity Cards belonging to community members.
According to SP Jimmy Patrick Okema, the PRO of the North Kyoga Region, this follows complaints raised to the Resident City Commissioner of Lira City, Mr. Emmy Lawrence Egole, about residents missing out on government programs such as the Parish Development Model (PDM).
It is alleged that on August 5, 2024, at around 15:00 hours, police officers from CPS Lira acted on information and conducted operations within Lira City, targeting the offices of money-lending companies such as Mindful SMC Micro Finance and Ben World, located at Te-Atat in Lira City and Obote Avenue, respectively.
Okema stated that they recovered 149 Ugandan National Identity Cards, one Rwandan National Identity Card, and one Ugandan passport. The money lenders working for these two companies were arrested and taken to Lira City West Division for further investigations and interrogation.
The suspects are:
- Mabasa Daniel is a 19-year-old resident of Kichope Cell in Lira City.
- Rwamwozho Eria is a 17-year-old resident of Kichope Cell in Lira City.
- Aojan Job is a 26-year-old resident of Ober Kampala Cell in Lira City.
SP Okema added that Section 69 (3) of the Registration of Persons Act stipulates that National IDs remain the property of the government, whereas Section 77 states: “Any person who unlawfully keeps or takes possession of a National ID or alien identification card that belongs to another person or has more than one National ID or alien identification card that is intended to show the person’s identity commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding forty-eight currency points or imprisonment not exceeding three years.”
The police have advised money-lending companies to use other documents instead of National Identity Cards as security when issuing loans to their clients.
