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Writer's pictureAidah Nabunjo

Fatboy: Overnight Tycoons Are Influencing Criminal Activities.


RX Radio Presenter James Onen commonly known as Fatboy, has commented on the recent trend of people showcasing their assets and hard cash, saying that they could be influencing others to join crime in order to live similar lifestyles.


This was after 9 Ugandans got arrested in India for trafficking drugs into the country. According to the New Delhi customs report, the passengers were intercepted when entering the Indira Gandhi International Airport from Entebbe International Airport. On being searched by the narcotics police, they were found to be in possession of the drugs.


The most recent arrest was on January 16 2022 when a Ugandan was arrested with a bag of 53 concealed pellets containing suspected heroin. The suspect was kept in hospital for over a week in order to excrete the 38 pellets that he had allegedly swallowed from Uganda before boarding his flight. The pellets were worth shs.3.2 billion.


If convicted, an individual can serve a sentence of more than 20 years. In the recent past, there have been allegations that foreign criminal gangs in Kampala are luring young Ugandans to act as drug couriers.


“I feel like part of what is fuelling this is social media where people constantly showcase how they are financially well and thriving. I think it pushes people to try to adopt this sort of lifestyle. You might even find that they aren't necessarily poor but maybe they want to live a flashy lifestyle,” Fatboy said.


He added that whereas not every mogul has attained their wealth through such means, there are some who need to be scrutinized.


“When you look around Kampala and how there seems to be these strange billionaires that suddenly come into being that we've never heard of before or the business they do, it raises eyebrows. All of a sudden, they are driving posh cars and splashing money in bars. We tend not to ask questions about their money but just praise them,” he continued.


Olive then commented on how most of the time, these tycoons are the owners of the drugs and use other people to transport them.


“Most of the people that swallow these drugs are used as couriers but they are not necessarily dealing in them. Usually it's the smaller fish that are assigned by the drug owner to carry the drugs. He pays for the courier’s air ticket but warns that if one is caught, they shouldn’t mention him.”


Olive went on to make reference to Businessman Gordon Wavamunno who during an interview questioned the sources of money of these unknown tycoons that were emerging, saying that he knew how hard it is to make money but he isn’t the type to splash it around.


“And he had some legit questions because you can see a very rich guy today and tomorrow he can't even afford medical attention,” she said.


Fatboy added, “So maybe as a society we need to call out such people to say that they are actually sending a wrong message.That money can’t be acquired overnight so that others are not susceptible to these sorts of activities.”


The Presenters noted that whereas some of the people caught trafficking drugs sometimes escape, others end up facing the death penalty from foreign countries such as those arrested in China.


The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, Sarah and Lesham every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.


Download the RX Radio app: Android|iOS


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