| Ofwono Opondo in shoplifting scandal |
| By Simon Kasyate |
| KAMPALA � The Director of Information at the Movement Secretariat, Mr Ofwono Opondo, was on Saturday fined for suspected shoplifting. Sources at Uchumi Supermarket told The Monitor yesterday that security personnel at Garden City Mall stopped Opondo in the parking lot after he had walked off with undeclared underwear and a pen. Opondo, also the spokesman of the National Resistance Movement, has denied the shoplifting charges, although he has admitted that he was involved in a small incident at the store. Sources at the supermarket said Opondo arrived at the store at 11:30 a.m. and bought a bottle of mineral water. After paying, the source said, he found his way back to the shopping floor. �He moved around and went to the stall for underwear, picked one and put it in his trouser pocket,� said a security officer who was monitoring the shoppers. �He then moved round again and stopped at a stall f or pens where he picked one and placed it in his shirt pocket.� When he was through, Opondo allegedly strode out and headed for the parking lot. Security personnel followed and got him. They reportedly told him that he had undeclared and unpaid for items from the store. An officer said, a visibly shocked and embarrassed Opondo obliged and was escorted to Garden City�s security office. �He was asked to make a statement which he did using a different name and asked to pay the fine,� said another security officer at Garden City who preferred anonymity. �But before writing the statement, he was searched and found to be armed; this raised suspicion,� the security officer added. Opondo reportedly did not reveal his exact identity until his identity card was found on him. �Another colleague walked in at that time and said he knew this man from the newspapers and he had just been on Capital Gang,� said the security officer. Opondo is a panelist on the Capital Radio talk-show which is aired every Saturday morning. He was, however, not on the show on Saturday. The security officer added that Opondo pleaded with management and the Chief Security Officer on duty, Mr Eliab Bigambwa, to allow him use a different name and keep quiet about the incident. He reportedly recorded his statement under the name John Okello. The Monitor was unable to get a comment from Bigambwa. In the statement, Opondo reportedly claimed it was an oversight not to pay for the items. He was handed a fine, calculated at ten times the cost price of the item shoplifted. The underwear costs Shs13,100 while the pen costs Shs3,000. �He was asked to pay Shs131,000, which he did by pulling out three new Shs50,000 notes and he immediately walked out without even waiting for the balance,� said a security officer who was present. It was not clear why he was not billed the fine for the pen which would have increased the figure by S hs 30,000. Opondo confirmed to The Monitor that he had indeed been at Uchumi on Saturday, but he denied the shoplifting claims. �Yes I was there and I did my routine shopping,� he said. �I went past the register inadvertently with a Bic pen which was in my shirt pocket, but I didn�t get out of the building. I was called back and we sorted the matter.� Opondo added: �I have no guilt about forgetting to pay for such small items.� The Uchumi management neither confirmed nor denied the incident. �We get shoplifters everyday, but our interest is not who they are in society,� said an official who declined to be named. �Our interest is to recover the goods and have the fine paid.� Pressed hard on the details around the incident involving Opondo, the officer replied, �No comment.� When asked if they registered a shoplifter under the names of John Okello, the officer said: �That was an internal matter that we resolved. Whether or not we were cheated on name , that is not our interest since the goods were recovered and the fine paid.� According to Uchumi�s policy, a person apprehended for shoplifting is charged a fine ten times the cost of the items. The lifted items are retained by the store. |
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