Uttam Bhandari is an Indian National and has been a Director at TFS Financial Services Limited that is located on Raja Chambers along Parliamentary Avenue in the City Centre of Kampala.
According to TFS twitter handle and linkedin, Bhandari has been working as a Director at the financial business since May 2019, as an experienced finance professional with over 12 years of multifaceted experience in the areas of corporate finance, advisory, risk management, investment (proprietary investment) and strategy.
Research findings indicate that Bhandari once worked at KPMG, Bahrain (one of the big four consulting, advisory, and audit firms) where he was involved in Corporate Finance Advisory which includes Buy side / Sell side Advisory, Valuation, Mergers and Acquisition, Real Estate, Debt Capital Market, and Equity Capital Market before joining TFS where he was shot while on his office desk.
Bhandari has also been a money lender operating a money lending business where he was lending cash to most prominent people like Parliamentarians and Police officers, according to acquaintances.
Bhandari’s fateful day
According to ASP Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, the alleged shooting of Uttam Bhandari an Indian National and the Director of TFS Financial Services by a Police officer identified as No.67029 PC Ivan Wabwire occurred on May 12, 2023 at around 12:30 pm at Raja Chambers along Parliamentary Avenue.
“The incident where the deceased was shot using AK47 happened at Rajja Chambers along Parliamentary Avenue in Central division in room B004 in the basement where a Police officer identified as No.67029 PC Ivan Wabwire had come to verify and to know how much he is being demanded,” Onyango said.
Onyango revealed that the client who is also a Police officer first came on Thursday and met the director or manager of TFS Financial Services to verify the status of his loan because the he was servicing two loans since 2020.
“The client had come to try and get calculation of his loan because he had got two loans since 2020, where the first loan was deducted direct from the source of his salary, while the second on was not coded, but he could just come and pay whenever he would get money. After the calculations, the money was totalling to Ugx 2.13million,” he said.
He added that Wabwire had come to the victim to get a quotation to take to unidentified bank so that the bank buys off the loan as alleged.
“Wabwire went back to TFS on Friday because on Thursday, he claimed that the bank from where he was receiving his salary wanted the calculations so that all the loans are officiated and see how to harmonise them. So that is when the shooting occurred,” Onyango said.
Adding, “So when Wabwire came back asking about the same issue on Friday, that is when the shooting happened and all the people that were inside took off. Now we don’t know what happened that’s why we have come to analyse the footage on the CCTV cameras and ascertain the real cause of the shooting.”
Onyango said that after the incident Police was informed then a team of Police officers led by SCP Steven Tanui, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Commander responded to the scene which was cordoned off and documented.
In the process, relevant statements were recorded from key witnesses and some of the workers of TFS financial services while the body was conveyed to Mulago city mortuary for post-mortem.
Preliminary Police report indicates that after the shooting, Wabwire jumped on a boda-boda and rushed to CPS Kampala where he abandoned the killer gun and ran away.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Tumusiime Katsigazi, later met with a delegation of the Indian business community that are living in Uganda where he reassured them of how Uganda Police is committed to ensuring their security.
He confirmed to the Indians that efforts to have the suspect arrested for further inquiries are being done. He contributed Ugx five million towards the burial arrangements.
On Sunday, May 14, 2023, Wabwire was arrested by a joint security team and Police of Busia that was commanded by DPC SP Didas Byaruhanga in conjunction with the Flying Squad Unit from Busia Municipality at customs at around 7:00am.
This is a third shooting incident happening in a period of less than two weeks. The first incident was that of the Minister, Rtd Col Charles Okello Engola who was shot by his bodyguard on May 2, 2023 at Kyanja.
The second one occurred on May 6, where Vlogger Ibrahim Tusubira popularly known as Jaja Iculi aka Isma Olaxes was shot by unidentified assailants at Kyanja.
