Published on 14/08/2025
A high-level team of senior government officials has joined forces to develop strategies aimed at curbing rampant fraud in Uganda’s mineral sector, particularly in gold trade.
During a follow up meeting on gold trade fraud in Uganda held on Wednesday 13th August 2025 at the State House Investors Protection Unit (SHIPU) offices in Kampala, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Eng. Irene Batebe said fraudsters mainly deal in gold and a number of investors have fallen victim to fake gold deals.
The first meeting was held in January 2025 and here the heads of government agencies agreed on the need to step up action to prevent fraud in order to redeem the image of the economy.
Eng. Batebe called for more concerted efforts with various government entities such as Uganda Police to deal with the challenge.
“We must really work together if we are to tackle this challenge. Efforts must be coordinated in an ecosystem arrangement so that in the future we can as well consolidate on them,” she urged.
Eng. Batebe also highlighted some steps being taken by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development and stakeholders to streamline gold trade.
She said so far, they have conducted a case study on Tanzania regarding regulation of business and were looking forward to benchmark in the near future.
“Unlike Tanzania, Uganda lacks designated points of sale and purchase of gold. We are working with the Attorney General to come up with a law to enable us to set up designated places for mineral markets and buying centres to overcome black markets and fraud,” she said.
“Like in Tanzania, you don’t just sell to anyone, gold is recorded and tracked, even if they are exiting the country.”
Eng. Batebe further revealed that they have already proposed designated centres for selling and buying of gold around the country.
“We are proposing Entebbe and Busia as selling centres while Kassanda, Moroto or Kotido as buying centres. Whoever will be caught trading outside these places, will be marked as a criminal,” she said.
“The Bank of Uganda gold purchase program will also bring in some good competition in gold trading by creating competitive prices. Black market dealers will join in, once the prices are competitive.”
Eng. Batebe further expressed the need for close collaboration with security agencies to effectively execute the regulations that will be put in place to streamline gold trade.
“We are also coming up with a digital platform which is supposed to support tracking and revenue management. Here revenue collection will be automatic.”
On the issue of smuggling of gold, Eng. Batebe urged that border patrol should be strengthened.
“For digital scams we must work together to deal with the issue,” she advised, as officials agreed to set up a cyber desk at the Uganda Police Force responsible for monitoring online mineral fraud.
The officials also agreed to set up a search registry for mineral dealers and also constitute a technical committee whereby members will be meeting on a monthly basis to discuss key issues.
The Head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, Brig. Gen. Henry Isoke advised that the government should come up with game changing regulations in order to fix the overwhelming issue, causing a disservice to Uganda as a country.
“We should strengthen strategic collaboration among government agencies if we are to achieve our goal,” Brig. Gen. Isoke noted.
“We need to move faster, timeline is key, engage the Attorney General, Cabinet and have a law in place to regulate the sector.”
The Head of SHIPU, Col. Edith Nakalema urged that agencies need to be dedicated towards plugging the loopholes in the entire eco-system.
“This calls for heightened vigilance along the gold fraud journey in each of our roles,” she said, further reminding the attendees that the role of SHIPU is to protect investors not only from unnecessary delays in the eco-system but also from fraudulent actors within the system.
“To inform our collaborative endeavor, it is necessary for all of us to appreciate the urgency of curbing this vice as a national imperative. This will inspire proactive collaboration from which firm action is triggered.”
Col. Nakalema also pointed out that as they move to deal with the scam, they should mainly focus on the origin of the fraud, managing risks along the payment processing value chain, empowering investors and decisive law enforcement.
“In our first meeting in January, we spoke with one voice. What brings us here today again joined by other stakeholders is because we still have a common enemy. Therefore, we are all in agreement that we have a role to play in preventing and thwarting fraud,” she said.
“However, to triumph over our adversary, we have to ensure that our strategic cooperation does not fizzle out into unconstructive combined effort. Such a lapse would only risk making our united front predictable to scammers.”
On the other hand, Col. Nakalema commended Brig. Gen. Isoke and his unit for the recent operation where they arrested seven suspects accused of swindling a Nigerian businessman out of USD 70,000 in a sophisticated fake gold deal.
Representing the Inspector General of Police, AIGP Frank Mwesigwa, Uganda Police Director of Operations described the gold scam as a big elephant in the house that must be dealt with as soon as possible.
“In 4 months, 48 cases have been reported. We can only fight this scam when we are working together. With policy interventions in place, we will be able to overcome the issue.”
Brig. Gen. Mike Kisame, Head of Aviation Security at Entebbe International Airport said that most times fraud is committed through a chain of individuals who are well connected financially and politically.
He therefore called for collaborative efforts among stakeholders if they are to win over the criminal act.
Brig. Gen. Kisame however decried the bureaucracy in decision-making when it comes to taking action against the fraudsters.
“If you don’t act fast things may take a different twist,” he cautioned.
The Police Minerals Protection Unit Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Julius Caesar Tusingwire said that since January 2025, they have closed 15 illegal gold refineries in Muyenga, Buziga and neighboring areas.
“We recovered a number of exhibits like fake gold, gas cylinders, money, genuine gold, among others. That operation was successful, and we agreed that every quarter we should conduct such an operation,” he said.
