Five individuals, three of whom are suspected to be soldiers of the Uganda People’s Defence Force, have been arrested in Lyantonde District for allegedly impersonating officials from the Uganda Revenue Authority and extorting money from unsuspecting traders.
The suspects were identified as Stephen Nuwaine, Twesime Amon, Odong Sam Opio, Fredrick Asiimwe, and Isma Sebuliba.
According to Robert Kalumba, Assistant Commissioner for Public and Corporate Affairs at the Uganda Revenue Authority, the arrests followed reports of fraudulent tax enforcement operations being conducted in Lyantonde District.
While addressing the media at the URA headquarters in Nakawa, Kalumba revealed that the suspects had been posing as URA enforcement officers and intimidating members of the business community in order to extract money from them.
“They have been masquerading as URA enforcement officials and using threats and intimidation to extort funds from traders,” Kalumba said.
Investigations indicate that the group threatened traders with imprisonment and heavy penalties, falsely accusing them of violating tax laws by selling beverages without the required digital tax stamps.
At the time of their arrest, authorities recovered several illegal items from the suspects, including firearms, forged URA letterheads, official seals, reflector jackets bearing the URA logo, fake URA identity cards, shirts printed with false names, and counterfeit enforcement notices used to threaten businesses with closure.
Kalumba confirmed that the suspects will be arraigned in court and face multiple charges, including impersonation and fraud.
“Investigations are ongoing to establish whether the suspects are indeed members of the UPDF,” he added, emphasizing that the individuals are not part of the URA enforcement team.
He also commended the intelligence and enforcement teams for their swift action in apprehending the suspects and urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report anyone attempting to extort money while pretending to represent URA.
