Police have revealed that fingerprint and DNA evidence have linked city socialite, Charles Olim also known as Sipapa to 12 other robberies in various parts of the city.
Sipapa was last week arrested and charged to court over shs1.2 billion robbery against a South Sudanese national .
The development followed an incident in which unknown thugs broke into the house of Jacob Arok, a South Sudan national and resident of Bunga in Kampala on the night of August 28, 2022, applying chloroform on the occupants and robbed the house clean.
“The thugs ransacked the home and stole cash amounting to $429000(Shs1.6billion), four Iphones, apple laptops, dell laptop, gold jewelry for the wife and a 65 inch Samsung tv among others,” Police spokesperson, Fred Enanga said last.
Enanga revealed that when the South Sudan national reported the matter to police, detectives tracked one of the phones stolen and following this lead, the signal led them to a home in Buwaate, in Wakiso district.
“Our detectives tracked down an iCloud from one of the phones stolen from the home and led them to a location in Kityo close in Buwaate in Kira division. When we interviewed the occupants, they said the house belongs to Sipapa whom we didn’t find at home but had travelled to Tororo.”
Sipapa has since been remanded together with his wife.
According to police spokesperson, Fred Enanga, following Sipapa’s arrest, police took fingerprints and other DNA samples from the city socialite that was later subjected to their database of wanted criminals.
“We are now linking him to 12 other scenes of crime of burglary and theft. Our Criminal Investigations Directorate and the Forensics Directorate have established 12 other cases linked to Sipapa. When his fingerprints and DNA samples were run in our database, scientific evidence linked him to the crime scenes,”Enanga said.
He noted that scientific evidence in form of fingerprints links Sipapa to criminal incidents in Bugoloobi, Ntinda, Kira, Kabalalagala, Jinja road, Kiwatule and Kyanja Jomayi .
Police says the crimes span from the year 2014 up to this year.
“The evidence shows he was the perpetrator or one of the perpetrators at all the scenes of burglary and theft .”
The police spokesperson however dismissed claims that Sipapa has all along been protected by big shots in security .
Over the weekend, the presidential advisor on defence, Lt Gen Proscovia Nalweyiso said she had ordered the withdrawal of the UPDF guards who had earlier been given to Sipapa.
She noted that she has for long tried to deal with Sipapa whom she said is a thief.
“I don’t think he is being accused falsely. I have been tracking him and I know he leads a gang of thugs who break into people’s homes,” Lt Gen Nalweyiso said.
She insisted that having taken a photo with President Museveni a few years back, Sipapa used this opportunity to hoodwink the public that he is working for the president.
