A 29-year-old car washer, Vincent Mugabi, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after admitting to stealing more than Shs 50 million from a client’s vehicle in Kampala.
Mugabi worked at Red Basket Washing Bay and Restaurant, located opposite Spear House along Jinja Road. He was found guilty of stealing money belonging to lawyer Nasser Sserunjogi, whose Toyota Land Cruiser he had been hired to clean.
The sentence was issued by Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi after Mugabi entered into a plea bargain with the complainant. The court noted that Mugabi had already spent one year, two months, and 13 days in prison on remand. This time will be subtracted from his sentence, leaving him with about six months to serve.
As part of the plea deal, Mugabi must also compensate his former client within six months after completing his jail term.
Court documents revealed that on July 13, 2024, Mugabi stole $3,300 (approximately Shs 11.4 million), €9,000 (around Shs 36 million), and Shs 2.5 million in cash from Sserunjogi’s vehicle, which was parked at the washing bay.
Sserunjogi told the court that he had known Mugabi for over 11 years and had trusted him with his vehicles for a long time. He said he often left money in his car whenever Mugabi washed it and had never experienced any theft until the incident occurred.
Investigations showed that after taking the money, Mugabi left the car keys with a co-worker named Edgar and disappeared around 7 p.m. When Sserunjogi returned later to collect his car, he discovered that the money was missing and immediately reported the matter to Kampala Central Police Station.
Police later tracked Mugabi to Tek Country Gardens in Buwama, Mpigi district, where he was arrested. Officers recovered Shs 2.9 million and €5,200 from him at the time of arrest. He confessed to the theft during interrogation.
Mugabi was charged with theft from a motor vehicle under Section 250(c) of the Penal Code Act. While delivering the ruling, Magistrate Kayizzi condemned the act as a serious betrayal of trust and urged all service workers to be honest and trustworthy in their work.