Elizabeth Esther Steenkamp
By Luzinda Peter
The Makindye Chief Magistrate’s court in Uganda has charged Elizabeth Esther Steenkamp, a Kenyan national, and Managing Director of Washa Lidjiwe Investments Limited with Obtaining Money by False Pretence and Conspiracy to Commit a Felony in a high value gold fraud case.
According to prosecution, between June and August 2025, at Plot 244 Bemba Road, Munyonyo, Makindye Division, Kampala District, Elizabeth Esther Steenkamp and others still at large, conspired to defraud American businessman Vladimir Toussaint Yvens of USD 255,650 (UGX 891,611,940 million) under the pretext that they would facilitate the export of 46 kilograms of gold from Kampala, Uganda, to New York, USA.
Prosecution noted that Steenkamp and others still at large convinced the investor to remit the funds, claiming it was necessary to cover declaration fees, government royalties, and documentation for the gold export.
However, despite receiving the funds, the gold was never exported and the suspects reportedly ceased all communication with the investor.
Steenkamp was arraigned before the Makindye Chief Magistrate’s Court on Thursday and remanded until October 28, 2025.
Steenkamp arraignment and charging before the court was by Uganda’s State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU), working with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
Recent Gold Scams
According to authorities, there has been a surge in gold frauds in 2025.
In one recent case, the Anti-Corruption Unit jointly with CID arrested seven individuals accused of defrauding a Nigerian businessman of USD 70,000 in a fake gold scheme, in which the defendants posed as gold exporters and supplied counterfeit gold bars.
Similarly, in September 2025, authorities arraigned Luyima Godfrey in Kampala for allegedly defrauding a South Korean investor of over USD 600,000 by claiming to supply 53 kilograms of gold, using forged documents and false identities.
