Defence Ministry Employee Charged Over Shs860,000 Rewards Scam

A 45-year-old employee attached to the Ministry of Defence has found herself in legal trouble after being charged with stealing Shs860,000 from a medical doctor in an alleged online rewards scam. Rukundo Lindah appeared before Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa, where she formally denied the charge of theft.

According to court records, the incident dates back to June 2025 within Kampala Central. The prosecution alleges that Rukundo, along with other accomplices still at large, swindled Dr Joseph Kamugisha by luring him into a purported government financial rewards scheme.

Testifying on the matter, Dr Kamugisha explained that he first encountered Rukundo when she visited his clinic as a patient. The two exchanged contacts and later communicated via WhatsApp. On June 28, 2025, Rukundo reportedly shared a link promoting the so-called National Safety Net Programme, claiming participants could win up to Shs6.6 million simply by answering basic questions. She allegedly assured him of its legitimacy, claiming she had previously won Shs3.5 million.

Despite initial hesitation—especially since Rukundo had previously claimed her phone was hacked—the doctor eventually clicked the link and answered the prompts. He was instructed to pay an activation fee of Shs550,000 to a contact registered under Amos Kipkurui Rotich, followed by an additional Shs310,000 transfer fee. After making the total payments amounting to Shs860,000, the promised rewards never materialized.

During court proceedings, defence counsel Brian Sebugwawo applied for bail. While State Attorney Grace Amy objected due to the completion of investigations, Chief Magistrate Kidasa noted that the bail application lacked an introduction letter from the second surety. However, taking into account the relatively small subject amount, the magistrate granted Rukundo a cash bail of Shs100,000.

Each surety was ordered to execute a non-cash bond of Shs300,000, and the second surety was instructed to present the missing introduction letter. The hearing has been adjourned to November 30, 2026. Read more details about the case on Daily Monitor.