Pastor Arraigned and Remanded for 17 Year Old Robbery Kidnap

A  17 year old crime has come back to haunt a 44-year-old pastor who  kidnapped and used a gun to  rob an Indian national.

Pastor Mark Aduba Moro, a resident of Mutungo Zone 11 in Nakawa division  has been finally arraigned before the Buganda Road court for a 2008  aggravated robbery and kidnap with intent to procure a ransom of  Vekariya Dhanji.

Moro is jointly charged with two UPDF officers  who are  still at large – Pte Ambrose Ochieng and Lt Jacob Odong Okeny over the September 2008 Kololo incident..

According to the prosecution represented by Ivan Kyazze ,  the trio, armed with a US Army pistol loaded with seven rounds of ammunition, allegedly robbed Vekariya Dhanji of 400,000 shillings  and later kidnapped him from his workplace at Plot 25A, Elizabeth Avenue in Kololo. 

That the suspects later  demanded a 30 million shillings to secure his release.

Court documents indicate that the victim Dhanji, who worked as a foreman at India Construction Company in Kibuli was lured into the trap by a young woman he had given a lift days earlier. He knew her only as “Claire.”

On the day of the incident, Claire allegedly showed up at his construction site around 5:30pm. Moments later, the  three suspects stormed the premises and claimed Dhanji had been found with the daughter of a high-ranking government official;  Lt. Gen. Salim Saleh.

Dhanji narrated that the three grabbed him  and put him in a vehicle along with the girl and On the way, one of them pointed a pistol at him  and took all  he had, including 400,000 shillings, his driving permit, mosque Identification card and  a watch and later drive him to Mbuya barracks. 

CMI operatives had been alerted  and the suspects were eventually tracked down, arrested, and arraigned in court on October 8, 2008 but  Moro reportedly escaped custody shortly after the court appearance and vanished until his re-arrest and re-arraignment today.

Chief Magistrate Kayizzi remanded Moro to Luzira Prison until August 15, 2025 as investigations continue.