City businessman pleads guilty, fined sh14m in tax fraud case

KAMPALA - A city businessman accused of making false statements to a Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) tax officer has pleaded guilty to charges involving taxes amounting to sh9.6 billion.

Sikhou Gassama, 63, who was facing seven counts of making false statements to a tax officer contrary to the Tax Procedures Act, pleaded guilty to all the charges before the Nakasero-based Principal Magistrate Grade One Paul Mujuni.

On December 8, when he appeared in court for a pretrial session, his lawyer, Evans Ochieng, informed the court that his client was willing to change his plea from not guilty to guilty.

‘Your worship, my client wishes to change his plea, and we pray that the charges be read to him again, Ochieng submitted.

When the magistrate re-read the charges and asked whether they were true, Gassama admitted, saying they were indeed true. Stuart Aheebwa, a supervisor in charge of litigation at URA, informed court that Gasama had made false statements to tax officer between 2016 and 2022.

Presenting the brief facts to court, Aheebwa stated that Gassama had made several false statements and failed to maintain proper records, contrary to Section 56 of the Tax Procedures Code Act, 2014.

Aheebwa added that during the same period, Gassama, while at Sarah Mall on Martin Road in Kampala Central Division, and serving as the director of Gassama & Brothers Company Limited, did not keep proper business records for tax purposes.

Facts presented in court,  further indicate that between 2016 and 2022, Gassama, at Sarah Mall on Martin Road in Kampala, filed false income tax returns with the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) by under-declaring a total income of sh9.6 billion.

Gassama fined

The court sentenced Gassama to a fine of sh14.8m, taking into account that he is a sick man battling cancer.

Court adds that he is of advanced age, is the sole breadwinner for his family, and is a first-time offender with no previous criminal record.

Ochieng argued that imposing a custodial sentence would severely affect Gassama’s family, noting that URA has other mechanisms it can use to recover the outstanding taxes.

However, the prosecution had asked for a custodial sentence, insisting that the offences were serious in nature because they deprived the government of revenue.

Aheebwa added that the amount of money involved was substantial and needed to be recovered, noting that failure to meet tax obligations creates unfair competition in the market.