Court postpones trial of five Riders Uganda officials over sh5.1b tax case
Five Riders Uganda Limited employees accused of making false tax declarations that allegedly cost URA sh5.1 billion have had their trial adjourned to December 4, 2026. The accused have denied the charges and are out on bail.
Court postpones trial of five Riders Uganda officials over sh5.1b tax case
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The trial of five employees of Riders Uganda Limited, accused of making false tax declarations that allegedly cost the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) sh5.1 billion in revenue, has been adjourned to December for hearing.
Pius Mwilili Muli and Richard Drakuma, both directors of Riders Uganda Limited, together with three company accountants, Obadiah Kioko, Betty Namwanje and Stephen Kasenge, are facing trial before the Nakasero-based Anti-Corruption Court, presided over by Principal Grade One Magistrate Paul Mujuni.
They face three counts of making false statements to a tax officer, contrary to Section 58(1)(a) of the Tax Procedures Code Act, 2014. The offence attracts a fine of up to sh9.6 million, imprisonment for up to two years, or both.
The hearing, which had been scheduled for that day, was deferred to December 4, 2026.
Prosecution's case
The prosecution, led by Thomas Davis Lomuria, a supervisor at URA, alleges in the first count that between July 2015 and June 2021, Muli, Drakuma, Kioko and Namwanje, while employed as directors and accountants at Riders Uganda Limited, knowingly made false statements to a tax officer.
In the second count, the prosecution alleges that Muli, Drakuma, Kioko, Namwanje and Kasenge, while employed as directors and accountants at Riders Uganda Limited, knowingly made false statements to a tax officer between July 2015 and June 2021.
They allegedly declared annual sales of sh4 billion instead of the correct figure of sh26.8 billion, with the intention of evading tax. The alleged false declarations resulted in a tax loss of sh1.4 billion.
The prosecution further alleges that Muli, Drakuma, Kioko and Namwanje knowingly made false statements to a URA tax officer while employed as directors and accountants at Riders Uganda Limited.
The five accused have denied the charges and are currently out on bail.