Pastor Sirajje Semanda jailed for 2 years, ordered to pay Shs 400m fine over fraud 

Pastor Sirajje Semanda of the Revival Church in Bombo and Jimmy Arinaitwe have been jailed for two and half years for fraud.

Buganda Road court chief magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu sentenced the duo and also ordered them to pay a fine of Shs 405 million. The two were arrested in 2020 for defrauding over Shs 4 billion from over 5,000 unsuspecting people including 400 private school owners.

Operating under “Hands Across the World Initiative” the duo promised school owners and parents of vulnerable children scholarships, trips abroad, and connections to get support through Operation Wealth Creation Uganda, which was a lie only meant to fleece them of their money. 

The State House anti-corruption unit picked up the duo in November 2020 after receiving complaints from their victims. Amanda was arrested with his wife and a breastfeeding baby while attempting to flee the country via the Mutukula border.

They first appeared before the Luweero grade one magistrate John Paul Obuya on November 17, 2020, on charges of obtaining money by false pretense contrary to Section 305 of the Penal Code Act and conspiracy to obtain money fraudulently contrary to section 309 of the same code. 

The matter was later transferred to Buganda Road court where the case has been ongoing for the past two years until their conviction yesterday Tuesday.