URA Senior Manager Arrested Over $60,000 Bribe to Suppress Tax Audit

The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has arrested one of its senior managers after he was allegedly caught receiving a $60,000 (approximately Shs220 million) bribe from a taxpayer at a Kampala restaurant.

Geoffrey Ssozi Kawere, who serves as the URA Manager for External Operations in the Customs Department, was apprehended last Thursday during a sting operation coordinated by the tax body’s internal investigative wing.

URA authorities allege that Ssozi solicited the funds from an investor in exchange for killing an ongoing tax audit into the investor’s company.

Addressing reporters at the URA headquarters in Nakawa on Monday, the Assistant Commissioner for Public and Corporate Affairs, Robert Kalumba, revealed that the manager had initially demanded $100,000 before the figure was negotiated down to $60,000. Kalumba stated that Ssozi’s team, working alongside a clearing agent, approached the taxpayer with promises to suppress the audit. Following a tip-off from a whistleblower, URA investigators orchestrated the sting operation that led to the arrest.

The clearing agent accused of facilitating the illicit transaction was also arrested and is currently assisting investigators as they probe whether a wider network of tax officials is involved. URA confirmed that its legal team is finalizing the charge sheet, and the recovered cash will be presented in court as an exhibit.

Despite the allegations, Ssozi vehemently denied the corruption charges during his arrest, claiming he was framed by influential business operators attempting to derail his enforcement operations. He described the accusations as half-truths engineered by a cartel involved in cargo consolidation fraud.

According to Ssozi, the individual who handed him the package is a major cargo consolidator, and the coordinating agent is an associate he has known since 2013 as the owner of Simbaland. Ssozi argued that his uncompromising stance against fraud, dating back to his 2012 deployment to clean up the Jinja Customs office, has made him a prime target for rogue clearing firms seeking to push him out of enforcement.

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The high-profile arrest aligns with URA’s intensified internal crackdown aimed at plugging revenue leakages caused by corrupt officials.

URA Commissioner General John R. Musinguzi reiterated the institution’s commitment to fighting graft, noting that the fight against corruption is intensifying within URA and that management will continue to uphold a strict zero-tolerance policy. Musinguzi called on the general public to report all incidents of corruption, misconduct, and suspected tax fraud to help the authority protect government revenue.

Investigations into the transaction and Ssozi’s claims of being framed by cargo consolidators are currently ongoing.