Veterinarian who defrauded job seekers was arrested

The Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court in Kampala has ordered the remand of a veterinary doctor to Luzira prison on charges of obtaining money by false pretense.
Hussein Abdul alias James Ssekiranda, 27, is also accused of operating a recruitment agency without obtaining a license from the government, contrary to Article 38(1)(a) of the Employment Regulations 2021.

Ssekiranda was charged separately before Chief Magistrate Ronald Kaizzi and senior principal first class magistrate Sanula Nambozo.
The court heard that between August and November 2023, Ssekiranda and others defrauded one Teddy Kasenyi of Shs7.2 million by falsely promising to employ him in Turkey.
It is also alleged that between July 2023 and January 2024, Ssekiranda and others still at large operated a recruitment agency to take Ugandan workers abroad without government permission.

He tried to apply for bail, after claiming that he was his (Ssekiranda’s) wife’s mother’s brother, their bailiff could not prove their relationship with him.
The court erupted into laughter after the surety failed to write down his sister’s name, prompting the chief magistrate to reject the bail application.

“According to the bail rules, the relationship between the suspect and the guarantors is very important. I have seen people here hiring professional bail bondsmen,” Mr Kaizzi said before remanding Ssekiranda in custody until November 25.
In another court, Ssekiranda was charged with additional charges of defrauding Aloysius Bwoomera of Shs3 million with false promises of employment in Turkey.

Ssekiranda’s case is not an isolated one as many Ugandans have fallen victim to similar recruitment scams. At least 43 Ugandans lost Shs940 million in fake recruitment scams against Israeli companies. Another scam, Qadar Recruitment Agency, is alleged to have defrauded job seekers out of Shs800 million.
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