Lawyer Kyagaba Isaac linked to shs. 18b Gold theft in Uganda
kakooza Peter
Thursday, March 13, 2025
The Uganda Police Mineral Protection Unit is investigating a major gold scam worth $4.9 million (18.62 billion Ugandan shillings) that has left foreign investors at a loss. The scam is said to involve both Ugandan and Burundian gold dealers, and one of the key individuals named in the case is city lawyer Isaac Kyagaba. The Ugandan company, OYZTAR MINERALS CO. LTD, is also accused of deceiving investors from Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Bogus Gold Transaction
According to a complaint filed by PT HRTC Exploration and Production, an Indonesian and Emirati company, the fraud involved a fake gold deal. The investors had agreed to buy 200 kilograms of gold from OYZTAR MINERALS CO. LTD.
Records show that the transaction started on May 8, 2024, when the company issued a pro-forma invoice (No. 1887). On May 13, PT HRTC transferred $3 million to an account at Stanbic Bank Uganda. Later, on May 28, another invoice (No. AR05/285) requested an additional $1.4 million, supposedly for export clearance fees.
By May 29, the investors had fully paid $4.4 million, yet they never received the gold as promised.
Lawyer’s Suspicious Role
In a related deal, PT HRTC also tried to buy 510 kilograms of gold from Burundi through intermediaries named Samuel and Hakim. To ensure the deal was safe, they hired city lawyer Isaac Kyagaba, who represents the multinational law firm Dentons, to oversee the process.
However, concerns arose when $500,000 was sent through Kyagaba’s account, only for the deal to collapse under unclear circumstances. When questioned, Kyagaba presented a Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) customs declaration document (Ref: T 70287 07 23), which was later found to be questionable.
Investors Demand Justice
Feeling deceived and having lost a huge amount of money, PT HRTC’s representative, Fahad Kigongo Semugenze, reported the case to the authorities.
The complaint is filed under SD REF: 32/25/02/2025 and SD REF: 31/24/02/2025. Kigongo accuses OYZTAR MINERALS CO. LTD and its directors of orchestrating the fraud. He is also calling for the arrest of the company’s beneficiaries, along with individuals Samuel, Hakim, and lawyer Kyagaba.
Kigongo further revealed that their attempts to recover the money or receive the gold have resulted in threats from those involved in the scam.
Legal Action Underway
The case is now in the Criminal Court, where legal proceedings have started to recover the lost funds and hold the responsible parties accountable. The Uganda Police Force is under pressure to act quickly, as such scams have damaged the country’s reputation in the gold trade.
Efforts to get a comment from Kyagaba were unsuccessful at the time of publication. Meanwhile, investors and key players in the gold industry are urging the police to speed up investigations and bring the fraudsters to justice.
This case has once again exposed ongoing fraud in Uganda’s gold sector, which has become a major issue for international investors.
