Uganda’s authorities are holding Kenya’s former Assistant Minister Stephen Tarus for allegedly smuggling 13 kilograms of gold estimated to be $845,821.
Tarus, who served during the late President Mwai Kibaki‘s reign as Assistant Minister for Internal Security was last week arrested smuggling 13 kilograms of gold into the country using forged documents.
Court documents indicate that the Kenyan politician was caught with falsified Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) documents, contrary to Section 203 (b) of the East African Community Customs Management Act, 2004 (as amended).
Uganda’s Newspaper Monitor reported that the former Emgwen Member of Parliament forged a receipt of USD 30,000 bearing the logos of the revenue body.
The suspect later tendered it to an unsuspecting Indian businessman from Mumbai who had just jetted into the country for the 2023 December holiday.
Tarus served as Kenya’s High commissioner to Australia from 2009 to 2012 and as Emgwen MP from 2013 to 2017.
The 57-year-old was subsequently arraigned before an anti-corruption court on Wednesday, January 10, where the bench directed his remand at Luzira Prison until January 18, pending investigations into his alleged offenses.
The Kenyan politician faces up to three years in jail or a fine not exceeding $10,000 should he be found guilty of forging Uganda receipts.
According to reports by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, Uganda is a regional hub for illicit gold smuggled from neighboring countries, mainly the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and South Sudan, and smaller flows from Kenya.
As a result of this gold smuggling, Uganda’s gold exports have grown exponentially since the 1990s and are now the highest in the region.
Uganda provides an attractive market environment for illicit gold due to the ease with which gold can be moved and traded, and because of the presence of many well-resourced buyers purchasing gold at competitive prices.
Low export royalties also contribute to a larger profit margin. Insecurity in both eastern DRC and South Sudan also makes Uganda an attractive destination for smuggled gold from those countries.
