The Bushenyi Chief Magistrate’s Court on September 9, 2026 convicted Mutungisa Longino on three counts of theft, unauthorised access to a computer device, and unauthorized modification of a computer device under the Computer Misuse Act.
The charges relate to the flashing and theft of nine smartphones financed by Watu Credit Uganda Ltd on loan. In May 2025, Watu’s monitoring systems flagged devices that had gone offline. The field officer could not account for them.
Investigators attached to Bushenyi Central Police Station found that he had unlawfully tampered and switched off all the nine phones. He was arrested and charged.
The prosecution led witnesses, included a Tracking Officer and Investigative Officers. At trial, the accused argued that he was not a Watu employee and that no document tied the devices to him. He nonetheless admitted that the phones had been assigned to him for sale and were financed on loan by Watu.
The court was satisfied with the evidence adduced by the prosecution beyond reasonable doubt, hence convicting the accused on all three counts.
Sentences
• Theft: a fine of UGX 2,000,000 payable to the government and UGX 8,000,000 in compensation to Watu Credit Uganda Ltd, or two years’ imprisonment in default.
• Unauthorised access and unauthorised modification: four years’ imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently.
Watu considers this a clear signal to deter anyone who flashes or steals devices financed by the company on loan, “Watu will pursue anyone who tampers with or steals financed devices, whatever their role or title. These phones are financed on loan, which gives thousands of Ugandans access to a smartphone, and fraud against it harms every honest customer,” said Viola Musiimire, Legal Manager, Watu Credit Uganda Ltd.
Phone flashing wipes or rewrites a device’s software so it can be resold, hidden or used to commit crime. The stakes keep rising as more of daily life moves onto handsets.
UCC’s first quarter 2026 report counted 58.7 million registered mobile money accounts, of which 36.7 million were active within the 90-day measurement period. The regulator’s second quarter report also put the number of smartphones at about 20.5 million. The more value people keep on their phones, the more valuable a tampered device becomes to criminals.
“Every flashed phone is a risk to its next owner’s identity, money, and data. We will keep investing in tracking, investigation and prosecution, and we encourage the public to report anyone offering to unlock or reprogram a financed device, said Mykyta Batenko, Head of Watu Simu Uganda.