Kakumiro man fakes child’s death to defraud family of Shs 350,000

What the report says

The Observer reports that police in Kakumiro district have arrested 27-year-old Nicholas Mutegeki over allegations that he pretended his child had died in an attempt to obtain Shs 350,000 from his family. Mutegeki, identified as a resident of Kiyora village in Bugambe sub-county, Kikuube district, is accused of staging the incident after his father, Kato Kabaleega of Kyekaado Cell in Kisiita Town Council, declined to send money for funeral-related transport.

According to the police account cited by The Observer, Mutegeki called his father on June 15, 2026, saying his child had died and asking for funds to take the body to Kakumiro for burial. After the request was refused, he allegedly put a banana sucker wrapped in cloth inside a coffin and brought it to his father’s home, presenting it as the child’s remains.

The alleged scheme was exposed when mourners demanded to see the body before burial. Mutegeki reportedly objected to opening the coffin, raising suspicion among those present. When mourners eventually opened it, they found the wrapped banana sucker instead of a body. The Observer reports that he fled after the discovery, while his sister, Irene Mutegeki, said the family and mourners were shocked.

Albertine Regional Police spokesperson Julius Hakiza said officers and residents later found Mutegeki hiding in a nearby bush and arrested him on Sunday. He is being detained at Kakumiro Central police station on a charge of creating a public nuisance. The report also notes a recent separate Hoima case in which two young men were arrested over an allegedly fabricated kidnapping intended to obtain ransom money from relatives.