Xavier Radio Ug News 24 7
Uganda’s gold underworld has once again been thrust into the spotlight after a furious Korean CEO fired off a blistering protest to Kampala’s top offices, accusing a trio of Ugandan businessmen of masterminding a polished, well-rehearsed gold scam that is now threatening to stain the country’s international business reputation.
What began as a simple 5kg “trial gold shipment” has exploded into a diplomatic headache, a credibility crisis, and a criminal puzzle involving forged government documents, fake export permits, counterfeit cargo papers, and an alleged cross-border fraud network stretching from Kampala to Seoul.
According to Kyueun Choi, the Chief Executive Officer of Lucky Global Co. Ltd., says he has run out of patience after minths of silence. Choi, who speaks with the precision of a man who has seen every page of the fraudster’s playbook, accuses three Ugandan nationals of staging an elaborate hoax designed to look like a legitimate gold export deal.
He says the scam was executed so convincingly that even his Korean partner company, KTOP Global, was deceived into wiring USD 10,000 to a Ugandan lawyer acting as “paymaster” for the shadowy gold dealers.
It all began months back when KTOP Global sent the money to Max Mwebembezi, a lawyer with Mujuzi & Co. Advocates. The payment was meant to “facilitate” the shipment of a 5kg sample of gold—supposedly legitimate and supposedly ready to depart for Korea. The handling was to be done by one man: Wasampijja Patrick Katongole, a high-talking operator presenting himself as CEO of Zenith Cargo Ltd and one James Matovu. Patrick reportedly dazzled the Koreans with glossy scanned documents—export licenses, assay reports, shipping certificates, even flight details and cargo tracking numbers. The problem? Every single document, according to Choi, was forged.
The Koreans did not take the allegations lightly. They flew to Uganda themselves on April 19, 2025, determined to resolve the matter face-to-face. They met Patrick three times in Kampala. Each meeting, according to the CEO’s account, was a string of delays, excuses, promises, and expertly delivered sweet talk with no substance. No gold. No refund. No accountability. Eventually, Patrick stopped picking up calls altogether—classic vanishing act of Kampala’s increasingly brazen “gold cartel.”
Choi names what he calls “the core triangle of fraud” behind the scheme: Patrick Katongole Wasampijja , the self-styled cargo expert; Godfrey Luyima, presented as CEO of Century Minerals Company; and lawyer Max Mwebembezi, who allegedly posed as the trusted intermediary for receiving international funds. Each man, according to the dossier provided by Choi, was a cog in what appears to be a rehearsed cross-border scam targeting unsuspecting foreign investors desperate to tap into Uganda’s gold market.
What seems to have shocked the Koreans the most, however, is not the USD 10,000 they lost. It’s the polished use of forged government documents—permits, certificates, stamps, seals—materials that would normally require sophisticated connections or access to corrupt insiders. The CEO warns that such schemes, if unchecked, could destroy Uganda’s standing among Asian investors, many of whom are already “deeply concerned” by the rise of cross-border scams originating in East Africa and smuggled into Southeast Asian markets.
Choi cals upon officials in Uganda’s investigative structures to take up the matter seriously.
He says this has caused alarm within the Korean business community.
“Let an investigation be opened,” Choi says in a letter to Ugandan authorities, requesting that the named suspects be summoned, tracked, but not to roam the city freely, hunting for their next foreign victim. He also wants their companies—Zenith Cargo Ltd ( ) , Century Minerals Company Limited ( ), and Mujuzi & Co. Advocates—be scrutinized and suspended.
Choi’s message is blunt: Korea is watching. Investors are watching. And Uganda risks being written off as a fraud hotspot unless decisive action is taken. He warns that Uganda cannot allow a handful of rogue individuals to sabotage an entire country’s credibility in international trade circles. The CEO also reveals that he is ready to submit a mountain of evidence—bank records, forged paperwork, WhatsApp messages, emails, photos and even videos from his Uganda meetings—to support prosecution. All he needs is for someone in Kampala to act.
But beneath the professional tone lies a deeper worry: that fraud syndicates are becoming more organized, more sophisticated, and disturbingly more confident. Choi notes that similar operations are flourishing rapidly in Cambodia, suggesting that Uganda may already be on the brink of becoming a regional hub for gold-related scams targeting Asian investors. His message reads like a warning shot fired across the bow of East Africa’s gold trade—and a plea for Uganda to reclaim control before the damage becomes irreversible.
The unfolding saga now places Uganda’s institutions in the spotlight. Will they act swiftly to salvage the country’s reputation, or will this become yet another international scandal that fizzles out with no arrests, no investigations, and no consequences? For Choi and the Korean investors he represents, the next few days will determine whether they still consider Uganda a viable destination for business—or whether the country is quietly slipping into the blacklist of Asian investors burned one time too many by the “gold dream” that turns out to be nothing but smoke.
What is clear is that this story is far from over as we shall reveal inmir subsequent publications including other similar dirty scams from same suspects especially Pateick.As the pressure mounts and the evidence piles up, the Ugandan authorities now have a choice: step in, clean house, and restore investor confidence—or remain silent while scammers with forged documents drag Uganda’s reputation through the mud. In the world of international business, perception is everything, and right now, Uganda is one statement away from either recovery or infamy.
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