Police at Kira Road is holding a woman suspected of using pseudo names to steal laptops and smart phones at conferences in hotels.Joan Nanteza had reportedly made it a habit to attend conferences and workshops held at Kampala hotels where she would register using pseudo names like Sharon Abuje and afterwards vanish with participants’ valuables.
Nanteza’s last hit (so far) was at Kabira Country Club in Bukoto, Nakawa Division, in Kampala where she registered as one of the invited participants of a conference organized by Advocates’ Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) Uganda.
She registered as Sharon Abuje and successfully gained entry to the venue. However, her luck ran out after the security team decided to search for all participants whose names were not on the provided list after a laptop and a smartphone went missing.
Nanteza was netted by the security team while still in Kabira Country premises trying to find her way out. She was taken to Kira Road Police Station where she has allegedly admitted that being part of the gang that conducts its theft trade in hotels and universities.
“I work with my colleagues and we target organised workshops and conferences at different hotels and we steal from their clients,” Nanteza allegedly said. “When one of us realizes that the number of participants is big, she alerts others to come and steal other items. We normally steal smart phones, bags, iPads, and laptops.”
According to Nanteza, they don’t care whether the hotel conference has CCTV cameras or not because a person who steals from a certain conference will spend several months without returning to the same place. She added that the most appropriate time they steal valuables from participants of hotel workshops and conferences is during break time, photo sessions and closure time.
Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson said Nanteza’s group is so big and many more are being hunted by police. Enanga said Nanteza had claimed that she is a student of Environmental Studies at Makerere University which was established to be false.
“We suspect university students are another group of targeted persons,” Enanga said. “We are charging Nanteza with personation and criminal trespass with intent to steal or commit a felony. She trespassed into one of the conference halls at Kabira Country Club and pretended to be a participant in a workshop. The name she used was not in the participants list.”
Investigators have established that Nanteza and group do not stop in Kampala but conduct their theft even in districts like Wakiso and Mukono. For instance, detectives have established that on January 29, 2024, Nanteza attended a workshop at Riders Hotel in Seeta, Mukono Municipality under different names and she stole a Samsung Tablet with an installed Health Information System Program.
“We have recovered the Samsung Tablet from her,” Enanga said. “We are carrying out expansive investigations to locate other accomplices and recover stolen items. Anyone who engages in deceptive practices like this, should know they will not go undetected and will be held accountable.”
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