A 27-year-old man has been arrested in Kakumiro district after allegedly faking the death of his child and placing a banana sucker in a coffin in an attempt to defraud his family of Shs 350,000.
The suspect, Nicholas Mutegeki, a resident of Kiyora village in Bugambe sub-county, Kikuube district, is accused of staging the elaborate deception after his father declined to send him money for funeral expenses.
According to police, Mutegeki telephoned his father, Kato Kabaleega, a resident of Kyekaado Cell in Kisiita Town Council, Kakumiro district, on June 15, 2026, claiming that his child had died.
He allegedly requested Shs 350,000 to transport the body to Kakumiro for burial. When his father declined the request, Mutegeki allegedly wrapped a banana sucker in cloth, placed it in a coffin and transported it to his father’s home, claiming it contained the child’s body.
The alleged deception was uncovered when mourners insisted on viewing the body before burial. Mutegeki reportedly resisted repeated requests to open the coffin, prompting suspicion among those gathered.
Mourners eventually forced the coffin open and found no body inside, only a banana sucker wrapped in cloth. Mutegeki allegedly fled the scene immediately after the discovery.
His sister, Irene Mutegeki, said the family and mourners were left shocked by the incident. Albertine Regional Police spokesperson Julius Hakiza said officers, with the help of residents, launched a manhunt and arrested Mutegeki on Sunday while he was hiding in a nearby bush.
He is being held at Kakumiro Central police station and has been charged with creating a public nuisance. The arrest comes barely a month after police in Hoima arrested two young men accused of staging their own kidnapping in an alleged attempt to extort Shs 2 million from their relatives.
The suspects, John Bosco Tumukunde, 20, and Ian Ajuna, 20, both residents of Kikerege village in Hoima district, reportedly disappeared from their homes on June 23 before calling their family members a day later, claiming they had been kidnapped and that their captors were demanding a ransom.
Police investigations later established that the alleged kidnapping had been fabricated. The pair was traced to a grass-thatched house in Kinogozi village, Buhimba sub-county, in neighbouring Kikuube district, where they were arrested.
Investigators said the two later confessed to orchestrating the scheme.
