The Uganda Bankers Association has officially launched the Anti-Fraud Consortium, a collaborative initiative aimed at combating financial cyber crimes in the country.
The consortium unites regulators, supervised financial institutions, payment providers, law enforcement, and the public to enhance efforts in anticipating, detecting, preventing, and responding to financial fraud with clarity and consistency.
Twinemanzi Tumubweine, the Executive Director of National Payment Systems at the Bank of Uganda and Chairman of the Financial Sector Anti-Fraud Consortium, stated that the primary goal of the consortium is to strengthen regulations against fraud while increasing public trust in the financial sector.
Tumubweine also proposed a complete ban on individuals convicted of fraud-related offenses from accessing any financial services or holding a telecom number for a designated period.
In terms of security measures, Ronald Azairwe, the Chief Executive Officer of Pegasus Technologies, emphasized that the consortium will provide training to the Judiciary and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to improve their capacity to handle cybercrimes effectively.
He pointed out that current cybercrime laws are not punitive enough to deter criminals and expressed the consortium’s intention to engage Members of Parliament in discussions to introduce more stringent legislative measures.
Jane Frances Abodo, the Director of Public Prosecution, highlighted that this initiative marks a crucial step in the collective effort to combat financial crime, which poses a significant threat to the integrity of the nation.
By Francis Lubega
24th April 2025
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