Exactly two months ago, President Museveni dropped the once powerful URA Commissioner General Doris Akol over unknown reasons replacing her with John Musinguzi Rujoki, who was known in the customs circles. The reasons for Akol’s sudden drop were perplexing especially since she had been taunted as a stellar performer with URA’s collections growing annually since she took over from Allen Kagina.
Last evening, the once powerful Commissioner in charge of Domestic Taxes Dickens Kateshumbwa resigned. It should be noted that Katesh- as he is fondly called had been transferred from the lucrative customs in a major shake up at URA that saw other senior managers moved.
Details emerging however indicate that Museveni had wanted to disband the whole senior management team at URA over corruption allegations that had cost the country a lot of leakages in terms of tax collections, with the perpetrators being these same senior managers who had hatched a plan and incorporated their personally recruited staff who they were conniving with to make money.
An insider at URA affirmed to this. “Doris Akol, Kateshumbwa and other top managers have always been on the radar. For example, Kateshumbwa had previously wanted to resign after getting the WCO Job but the resignation was rejected because he was still under investigations”
This website has also learnt that Museveni had placed a team of pseudo CMI operatives inside URA to carefully note how the tax collection body was operating. The reports said the country had a potential to fully self fund the national budget with very little help from the donors. The major loophole to had been pointed out as the unending graft that at URA led by senior managers who were aiding many businessmen evade taxes causing losses. The same insider added. “Kateshumbwa’s involvement in sidelining some businessmen while helping others was for exampled cited as a huge setback to the tax body.”
Dickens Kateshumbwa did not pick our repeated calls to his known mobile number, while Vincent Seruma said URA was preparing a statement which they would released. “We are preparing a statement. For now I cannot divulge any information”, Seruma said when asked why Kateshumbwa had suddenly resigned.
The racket
To deeply understand how URA top managers were involved in activities that cost the tax body money, a syndicate created by influential employees at URA has been unearthed. Some managers were pocketing colossal sums of money from these side arrangements. It is said consignments destined for Kampala would leave the border to warehouses without paying taxes. The money meant for paying taxes to URA would then be shared among these managers causing the country losses of taxes. These businessmen were evading so much taxes that it is alleged URA was losing as much as It collected in revenue through these scam
State House meeting
At the start of this year, President Museveni called a meeting of top URA management. The meeting was attended by the then CG Doris Akol, Commissioner Customs Dickens Kateshumbwa and Protazio Begumisa the Commissioner Audit & Compliance. At the meeting, Museveni wanted to know why the tax body had failed to increase collections yet reports showed growth in all sectors of the economy which should have also resulted into improved collections. Akol gave some flimsy reasons which Museveni dismissed. Protazio Gumisiriza however was candid to the President telling him where the faults were. Protazio also gave the President information about the many rackets that had eaten up URA. The president it is said was impressed with the commissioner’s truthfulness and crafted him into his inner circle of informers.
Protazio Gumisiriza, a known contact of President Museveni at URA would later resign to build his political base in Kabale where he intends to contest as MP.
Other reports from the deployed CMI operatives at URA too unearthed the various rackets created by powerful commissioners. These syndicate chains were then used to help businessmen evade taxes, and recruitments into their operations were determined by senior managers who made sure only well briefed and ‘loyal’ staff were gotten in.
Kyankwanzi retreat
After the State House meeting, the President then tasked Doris Akol to clean house. On return to Nakawa, Akol briefed other senior managers who decided to in February to convene a senior management retreat at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi.
At the retreat, they discussed majorly the President’s recommendations on how to raise collections and close all tax leakages. They then agreed make changes in management. It was after this retreat that the once powerful commissioners like Dickens Kateshumbwa were sent to other directorates. This was in accordance to the retreat deliberations.
These changes however did not yield much, the leakages continued. This annoyed Museveni who said the changes were meant to shield some managers who were the gang leaders had been left to continue with their graft.
Akol is dropped
The revelations that the Commissioner General only moved the commissioners who continued to influence happenings at the tax body while not closing tax leakages annoyed Museveni. Akol was then dropped and replaced with John Musinguzi Rujoki.
The plan to appoint Rujoki was mooted last year in September, but he requested to wait after studying the situation and asked for 4 to 6 months in order to acclimatize himself with URA operations before taking over.
To start off, he reconnected with all old senior management staff that had resigned.
He asked them the reasons for their exit. These managers told him the dirt that had forced them to exit and avoid being swallowed by the ugly works.
And midweek, Rujoki after meeting the Head of State, convened a meeting with URA board to determine the fate of Kateshumbwa and other two senior managers; Silajji Kanyesigye, assistant commissioner large taxpayers, Henry Saka, head of tax investigations and former commissioner of domestic taxes, Sam Kahima, a tax auditor in the domestic tax department.
URA board resolved that the officers take a honourable decision to resign or be fired.
