The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has arrested a fraudster who had created a fake Facebook account attributed to the Commander Land Forces Lt Gen Peter Elwelu.
The suspect posing as Helga Mbambu has been found to be Ivan Ntambi Ivan (real name).
Ntambi was using a Facebook account in the names of Gen Elwelu to ask soldiers to pay money and be considered for deployment under the African Mission In Somalia (AMISOM), where soldiers are thought to be earning handsome allowances.
Our sources told us that the suspect was arrested in Gulu over the weekend.
Cases of fraudsters impersonating government officials on social media are on the increase
Last week, the UPDF issued a warning over a fake social media account being operated in the names of Lieutenant General Peter Elwelu, the Commander Land Forces.
The UPDF Spokesperson Brigadier Richard Karemire had asked the general public to disregard any information on the social media account which he said was fake.
“This is to inform all and sundry that there is no Facebook or Twitter account operated by Lt Gen Peter Elwelu. Any information originating from these accounts is fake and should be ignored,” Brig Karemire said in a warning sent out last Thursday.
The army spokesperson added, “Law enforcement agencies have meanwhile taken interest in the matter.”