Tax agent wants court to dismiss charges against him

_______________

A former tax agent at PAT MAC Uganda Limited has, through his lawyer, asked the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala to dismiss charges against him regarding shillings 177 million.

Constantine Okwi, 40, is facing six counts of making false statements to a tax officer.

According to the law (Tax Procedures Act, 2014), Okwi could serve a two-year jail term if found guilty. If convicted, he could alternatively have to pay a fine (sh960,000) — or even both.

Okwi wants the court to dismiss the charges, arguing that the state has twice failed to produce a witness.

His lawyer, Vianney Sewanyana, made the application on Wednesday (August 6) before the Anti-Corruption Court presided over by Principal Grade One Magistrate Christopher Opit, after the prosecution failed to produce witnesses.

Sewanyana submitted that the case had been adjourned twice due to the prosecution’s failure to present witnesses.

“On May 7, 2025, the state failed to produce a witness, and court adjourned the matter to August 6, 2025. Today, again, the state has failed to produce any witness. I pray that court dismisses the charges under Section 119 of the Magistrates Courts Act,” he said.

Section 119 provides that if the complainant fails to appear in court, the magistrate has
the power to dismiss the case for non-appearance.

However, Allan Nkoyoyo, an officer from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), told court that he had summoned two witnesses, Mathias Nsonga and Jackline Mutoni, but both were unable to appear.

“Your worship, I summoned both Nsonga and Mutoni. Nsonga’s worker got into an accident, and he had to attend to him. Mutoni, a banker, had been scheduled to appear at midday, but the time was not convenient for court. I pray that the matter be adjourned to another date for hearing,” he said.

Okwi is charged alongside Nsonga, a director at PAT MAC Uganda Limited, who pleaded guilty and has since been turned into a prosecution witness.

Magistrate Opit granted the prosecution’s request and adjourned the case until September 4, 2025, to enable the state to produce its witnesses.

Charges against Okwi

The prosecution alleges that in November 2018, while acting as an agent of PAT MAC Uganda Limited in Jinja district, Okwi, together with Nsonga, made false declarations for purchases, purporting that the company had bought goods from Silva Hawk with a principal tax of shillings 65.5 million.

It is further alleged that Okwi and Nsonga knowingly made a false declaration, claiming that the company had purchased goods worth shillings 66.8 million from Kukubu International Limited, with a principal tax of shillings 32 million.

The prosecution contends that in December 2018, in Jinja district, the duo again falsely claimed to have purchased goods from Silva Hawk Limited, incurring a principal tax of shillings 16.1 million, despite knowing the declaration was untrue.

In another count, the prosecution alleges that Okwi and Nsonga, while serving as a director and tax agent of PAT MAC Uganda Limited, respectively, falsely claimed the company had purchased goods with a principal tax amount of shillings 19.9 million.

It is further alleged that in March 2019, still in Jinja district, the accused made yet another false declaration, claiming that goods had been purchased from Kakubu International Limited, attracting a principal tax of shillings 19 million.

According to the prosecution, in May 2019, the duo also made a false declaration for the purchase of goods from Kakubuzi International Limited.

Okwi has denied the charges and is currently out on bail.