A Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) soldier, Steven Silasi Oyapa, who is wanted over rape has been arrested attempting to extort money from the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among.
Oyapa raped a 24 year old woman, a resident of Nakabago village, Ntawo ward, in Mukono district on December 21, 2024.
Oyapa’s rape crime was recorded under CRB 1783/2024. Mukono police launched a hunt for Oyapa after conducting a medical examination that confirmed that the victim had been raped.
“We visited the scene and collected the necessary evidence. We tried and found his pictures. We shared with the covert team to trace his movement. Even in his absence, the file was sent to the Resident State Attorney (RSA), and it was later sanctioned,” detectives said.
Oyapa’s victim was examined at the CPR Medical Centre in Mukono. The culprit disappeared upon learning that he was wanted. However, it has emerged that a few days ago Oyapa was arrested masquerading as a Lieutenant Colonel (LT) from UPDF hailing from Bukedea district and was extorting money from Among.
However, to her surprise, she had never heard of Lt Col Oyapa, and she became suspicious.
“The Speaker kept on engaging the suspect as she bought more time to make her inquiries with the UPDF. It was later confirmed that no Lieutenant Colonel Oyapa was hailing from Bukedea as he claimed. He was arrested and handed over to police,” sources said.
Because Oyapa’s rape case had been shared to covert teams, police quickly realized that he was being hunted over rape. “When he was handed over to police in Kampala, it was established that he is the same person needed over raping Mukono woman in December, 2024. He is now facing two separate files. The first one of rape and then extortion,” detectives said.
Oyapa is expected to appear in court before the end of this week. All of Oyapa’s two case files have been sanctioned.
In the video recorded while trying to extort the Speaker of Parliament, Oyapa is seen donning a full UPDF Lieutenant Colonel uniform. Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson SSP Patrick Onyango said he was not aware of Oyapa’s arrest.