Police in Nansana, Wakiso District, have arrested a 34-year-old Congolese national suspected of dealing in stolen mobile phones and facilitating their transportation to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The suspect, identified as Justine Kulimushi, was arrested on August 20, 2026, following intelligence that he had returned to Uganda and was purchasing suspected stolen phones from Kalungi Plaza.
According to Kampala Metropolitan Police Deputy Public Relations Officer ASP Luke Owoyesigyire, the arrest followed investigations into the theft of an iPhone valued at about Shs3 million. The theft was reported at Nansana Police Station on April 21, 2026.
Police tracing of the stolen phone established that it had been taken to Kalungi Plaza before being transported to Beni in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Further intelligence indicated that Kulimushi frequently travelled to Uganda to purchase stolen mobile phones for transportation to Congo.
Following information that he had returned to Uganda, a joint team of Nansana Police and intelligence officers conducted an operation at Kalungi Plaza and arrested him.
Police said they recovered 27 second-hand mobile phones of different makes and models from the suspect. The phones had reportedly been factory-reset or flashed, raising suspicion that they had been prepared for resale and to make it more difficult to trace their original owners.
Investigators suspect the phones were stolen from different parts of Kampala Metropolitan Area and subsequently collected for resale to Kulimushi and other dealers.
Kulimushi remains in police custody as investigations continue to establish the source of the phones, identify their rightful owners and determine the involvement of other people in the suspected network.
Police have appealed to members of the public who have lost mobile phones to report to the nearest police station and provide relevant details to assist investigators in tracing and recovering the devices.
