KAMPALA – A woman, who was recently arrested for stealing offertory from Watoto Church, Ntinda branch in Kampala, has been asked to pay a fine of Shs250,000 or serve a five-month prison sentence.
City Hall Court Grade One Magistrate Valerian Tuhimbise on Monday, March 9, 2020, found Judith Nanangwe, 24, a resident of Kob Road, Seeta in Mukono District, guilty of the offence.
However, he said the Shs250,000 fine is a lenient one to enable her care for her new born baby.
Prosecution had wanted her to serve a five-month sentence as she undergoes counselling.
Nanangwe pleaded guilty to stealing offertory bag containing Shs643, 000, the property of Watoto Church, Ntinda branch on March 1, 2020.
According to the case file, during the first service at around 9am, while collecting offertories, the prime suspect received the offertory bag which had money and swapped it with hers made by herself.
A vigilant church member alerted a colleague who latter passed on information and the suspect was arrested with the exhibits. It was found out that money has been disappearing from church mysteriously though no formal entry was made at a police station.
The suspect on arrest was found with other offertory bags of different churches with serialised numbers, which she dint disclose.
Theft of offertory in Uganda is not new. In August 2019, the Chaplaincy of St Augustine at Makerere University released a video footage about the theft of offertory and church equipment.
Fr. Josephat Ddungu, the chaplain of St. Augustine Church, said unidentified thug broke into the chapel on the night of August 11th, 2019.
According to Fr. Josephat Ddungu, the thug made off with unspecified sum of money, laptop, extension cables, boxes where the offertory for mother Mary and radio Maria are kept among other things.
