Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Anti-corruption court has issued a criminal summons for music star Joseph Mayanja also known as Jose Chameleon, to answer to charges of failing to pay more than 137 million Shillings in import duty.
The Anti-Corruption court chief magistrate, Pamela Lamunu Ocaya issued the criminal summons on Tuesday requiring Mayanja to appear before her on July 30 to answer the offences against him.
Mayanja faces two counts of being in possession of unaccustomed goods and failure to produce documents when required to in line with the East African Community Customs Management Act of 2004.
According to the charge sheet signed by Simon Peter Ogwang, a customs officer with Uganda Revenue Authority, Mayanja was found in possession of a South Sudanese vehicle registration number SSD 499B Toyota Land Cruiser V8 model along Wakaliga-Bulange Mengo on April 12 2020.
Ogwang says they tasked Mayanja to avail the URA team with documentation regarding the legal status of the vehicle in Uganda which he promised to bring in vain. URA notes that the artist has never paid the import tax duty for the vehicle valued at Shillings 137 million.
Trouble’s for Mayanja started on Easter Sunday as he was going to perform live at a local Television. URA intercepted him in Wakaliga to provide the documentation for the vehicle in vain.
A video went viral on social media showing the singer asking the tax officials to go and pick the documents from his home. Mayanja couldn’t be reached for a comment on the charges against him.
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