In Lyantonde District, a man who posed as a National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) employee has been taken into custody by the police. The impersonator, hailing from Masaka District, managed to collect UGX 897,000 from NWSC customers in Lyantonde Town before his arrest on Wednesday morning.
According to Mr. Douglas Kiwanuka, the head of the Lyantonde Police Station, their operation began after receiving a report from the NWSC area manager. The manager had informed them of an imposter deceiving customers and taking money under false pretenses. Within hours, detectives apprehended the suspect in Buyanja Sub County, en route to Rakai District, with intentions of defrauding NWSC customers there as well.
Preliminary police investigations suggest that the suspect had previously worked as a trainee at one of the NWSC offices in the Kampala area. It is suspected that he may have an inside source within NWSC, providing information about customers with water bill arrears, as he was demanding the exact amounts owed by these customers. The suspect is expected to face charges of theft and impersonation once the investigations are concluded.
Ms. Susan Namutebi, a resident of Lyantonde Town, shared her experience, stating that the suspect arrived at her home dressed in NWSC attire and even presented the corporation’s identity card. Feeling pressured and threatened with water disconnection, she gave him UGX 25,000 out of her UGX 40,000 unpaid bill. The impersonator provided a receipt using an NWSC receipt book before departing.
Mr. Andrew Ahumuza, the Lyantonde NWSC branch manager, expressed his disappointment at the reemergence of such impostor cases, which had significantly declined in recent years. He advised NWSC customers to refrain from paying their water bills in cash to field personnel and instead encouraged them to use mobile money, banking services, or visit the NWSC branch offices in person.
