Police have returned a car owned by President Yoweri Museveni’s senior spokesman after it was seized in Kenya with South Sudanese registration numbers in April.
The vehicle, a Toyota Kluger model, was reported missing after it disappeared from a parking lot at a home in Kampala in September last year. The car’s false South Sudanese registration read SSD598M.
The Kenya Flying Squad failed to nab the occupants of the vehicle, who escaped narrowly after defying surrender orders during the raid in April. They had earlier on trailed the vehicle, after receiving a tip-off from their colleagues in Uganda. They first spotted it in Murang’a before impounding it in Gilgil, Nakuru County.
Don Wanyama, President Museveni’s Senior Press Secretary told the Nation on Tuesday, that he had received back his car after months of searching in vain.
“The Kenyan Flying Squad handed it to Uganda police yesterday (Monday) at Busia. It was stolen last September from my home and taken to Kenya,” Don happily stated.
His statement clarified earlier reports that claimed the car belonged to the Ugandan President.
Police sources in Kenya revealed that the car was verified after its chassis number differed with the South Sudanese registration but marched with details provided by Ugandan authorities.
They also revealed that a car theft syndicate is on the rise due to the region’s easily penetrable borders. Registration numbers of stolen vehicles are then easily changed after stolen vehicles are ferried to neighbouring countries.
In November 2017, Kenya banned South Sudanese registration numbers with the series CE, EE, SSJS, UNS, WS and NBGS after Juba standardised registration.
However, car thieves still have the ability to fabricate registration series making them acceptable and legit, enabling them to dodge the police. This occurs because there is no existence of a shared database on vehicle registration across various countries.
