By Our Reporter
Kampala: TheSpy has landed on a ploy to involve President Yowerei Museveni in the hacking saga where unknown and some known staff have been hacking and withdrawing people’s savings from the bank.
This according to reports, Dfcu bank is planning to approach the President to intervene by stopping the media from reporting about Dfcu scandles among others the recent hacking scandal where billions of shillings disappeared from the bank.
The bank’s board of directors is pleading to the president for a meeting organized under the guise of briefing him on economy performance. It is said one of the two board members will lead the team.
As media, we condemn the
A week back we reported of Three Dfcu bank officials who appeared at the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) in connection to the theft of unspecified among of customers’ deposits.
CID spokesperson, Charles Twine confirmed that the three officials whose names he didn’t disclose were indeed interrogated on Tuesday following an official complaint lodged by the the bank’s top management.
“The dfcu case was formally reported here and investigations are ongoing. Some three people were picked, interrogated and released on bond. Because this is a crime that was committed electronically,” Twine said.
Although Twine declined to reveal how much money was stolen, media reports put the figure at Shs 8 billion. He also said detectives and their cybercrime team have already picked the computer logs and are analyzing them to establish how the fraudulent transactions were done. The media is only doing its job of informing the public and has no ill motives.
Why Is Dfcu Top board Running to the President?
Dfcu bank managers seem to only appreciate positive stories about the company but not negative stories however much its true and confirmed by security agencies, they take it as sabotage.
However much Dfcu has confirmed it, they still intervene to put a block on any media house that would wish to run a story.
Many media houses including TheSpy have written good or positive stories about all banks Dfcu inclusive, which shows there is no intentional malice against the bank.
The media’s aim to contribute to transparency and accountability in the banking industry. Investors need banks that are transparent and accountable to the public. Shareholders also want to deal with managers who are transparent in their operations and transactions however, It is on record that Dfcu bank does not like media houses that have reported about not good incidents in that institution for example the controversial acquisition of Crane Bank Limited (CBL) and Global Trust Bank Uganda (GTBU). The report of parliament’s Committee on Commissions, State Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) is clear on this matter that had the BoU management blamed as well.
The media have published negative stories about other banks in Uganda but those banks have never come up to complain because they were true. Some banks for example were reported in the media for holding on to pensioners’ money, giving loans to dead people, among other stories but they have never come out to blame the media. The Bank of Uganda (BoU) which regulates the local banking sector has not been spared either.
In such circumstance it is wrong for Dfcu bank or nay other bank to try to prevent the media from doing their noble job. However, it is important to note that the media has also been careful not to publish some articles that could harm the banking industry, yet some bankers are responsible for the chaos in their own institutions.
It is also on record that DFCU Bank has tried to influence security agencies to reprimand journalists that write the so-called negative stories about the bank. Journalists have received telephone calls from individuals who claim to be doing it on behalf of the bank.
The continuous claim that the negative stories about the bank could hurt the Ugandan economy is misleading. Dfcu bank is loved and managers there only have to put things right. For instance they should ensure that their systems are secure to beat hackers and others.
When the media reports on any organisation in the way that the institutions thinks it is negative, the media is interested in proving solutions to the problem so that the bad incidents don’t repeat again. That is why Dfcu bank should solve problems internally rather thinking of reporting the media to Museveni, whose government has guaranteed press freedom to the greatest extent.
