The State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU), in coordination with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), has charged Elizabeth Esther Steenkamp, a Kenyan national and Managing Director of Washa Lidjiwe Investments Limited, with obtaining money by false pretence and conspiracy to commit a felony in a high-value gold fraud case.
Steenkamp was arraigned before the Makindye Chief Magistrate’s Court on Thursday and remanded until October 28, 2025, pending further proceedings.
Prosecutors allege that between June and August 2025, at Plot 244, Bemba Road, Munyonyo, Steenkamp and others still at large conspired to defraud American investor Vladimir Toussaint Yvens of USD 255,650 (approximately UGX 980 million) under the pretense of facilitating the export of 46 kilograms of gold from Kampala to New York.
“She faces charges of obtaining money by false pretence and conspiracy to commit a felony. The accused has been remanded until 28th October 2025,” SHACU confirmed.
The case unfolds amid a surge in gold-related fraud in Uganda’s minerals sector, particularly in Kampala and its surrounding areas.
Authorities report that gold fraud cases have sharply increased in 2025.
In one recent incident, the Anti-Corruption Unit and CID arrested seven suspects accused of defrauding a Nigerian businessman of USD 70,000 in a fake gold export scheme involving counterfeit bars.
Likewise, in September 2025, Luyima Godfrey was arraigned in Kampala for allegedly defrauding a South Korean investor of over USD 600,000, using forged export documents and false identities.
Public records show that enforcement has intensified: over 56 suspects linked to gold fraud have been arrested in Kampala operations, where UGX 900 million (≈ USD 240,000) was recovered during an eight-month crackdown.
Authorities say these cases expose deep challenges in regulatory oversight, document verification, and the use of shell companies to exploit foreign investors in Uganda’s expanding minerals trade.
