A white man and a Bodaboda rider have been arrested in connected with planting a fake bomb at an entrance of a commercial bank and forex bureau in Lubowa, along Entebbe road and demanding a ransom of more than 600 million shillings.
It all started yesterday evening when a Bodaboda rider identified as Madi Muteta was given an envelope to deliver to ABSA Bank and Guild Forex Bureau all located at Quality Supermarket, in Lubowa.
Upon checking the envelopes which the Bodaboda rider delivered and swiftly left, they ABSA Bank and Guild Forex Bureau staff realised the letter had informed about a pipe bomb erected at the entrance of the two commercial entities.
In the letters, detectives said the person demanded to be paid ransom of more than 630 million which had been broken into $120000 (about 427 million shillings), £20000 (about 96 million shillings), and 20000 Euros (about 83 million shillings) and 30 million Uganda shillings.
“On August 19, 2025, at around 4 pm, police received information about two anonymous letters delivered to Absa Bank and Guild Forex Bureau. Police cordoned off the scene, and the bomb squad responded. The letters claimed a pipe bomb was planted at the entrance and demanded a ransom of $120,000, 20,000 Euros, 20,000 Pound Sterling, and 30 million Ugandan shillings,” a report by Kajjansi police said.
Patrick Onyango, the Kampala metropolitan police spokesperson, confirmed that the investigations are ongoing. Police said the culprit was yet to provide his details but everything was being done to know the motivation for such an act.
The yet to be known white man was tracked with the help of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras mounted along Entebbe road. Kajjansi police was able to see the vehicle the Muzungu used to give the Bodaboda rider the parcel to inform ABSA Bank and Guild Forex Bureau about the bombs.
“CCTV footage revealed the vehicle used by the person who gave the letters to the boda-boda rider, Muteta Madi, 30, and it was identified as UAV 462V. Muteta Madi revealed he received the envelopes from a Muzungu known to him by face, using the identified vehicle,” detective said.
According to Muteta’s statement, he was paid 20,000 Ugandan shillings to deliver the letters to security guards. Muteta said he was just lucky to be paid 20000 shillings for such a very short distance but did not know it was going to land him in trouble.
Kajjansi police with the help of bomb squad confirmed that the bomb was fake. Bodaboda riders have always been a soft target to be used in acts of terrorism in Kampala. According to police investigations, the boda-boda who exploded with a suspected terrorist at Parliamentary near Jubilee building had been picked by the culprit at the entrance of Total Petrol station opposite Uganda House as he waited for clients.