Two arrested for impersonating URA Commissioner General

Security has arrested two men for allegedly creating a facebook account in the name of the new Uganda Revenue Authority Commissioner General, John Musinguzi to defraud the public.

According to Ian Rumanyika, the URA manager for Corporate Affairs, the two suspects are Ronald Muhumuziibwe, 26 and Francis Mutambuzi, 38 who opened a fake account to defraud the public by promising them jobs and business opportunities with the tax body.

“Investigations have unearthed these two individuals and useful potential exhibits including seven used sim cards, four unused sim cards and six original National Identification cards have been recovered from them,” Rumanyika said.

According to the URA manager for Corporate Affairs, a one person commenced interactions on April, 27 with the fake facebook account in an attempt to reach out to the new URA Commissioner General but was alerted when he was promised to be given a contract at URA after giving in a shs10 million bribe.

“The complainant contacted us about this scheme and investigations duly ensued culminating into the duo’s arrest,” Rumanyika said.

“We have established that one of the suspects operates a sim card registration business and he takes advantage of clients’ National Identification cards forgotten at his shop to fraudulently register sim cards which sim cards he then utilizes to contact and defraud unsuspecting members of the public.”

The URA Corporate Affairs manager however warned the public on always being vigilant but also to reach out to the tax body through the official contact channels about any of their services.

President Museveni recently boasted of having cleaned the tax body of “thieves” after the resignation of four senior commissioners.

“There has been a lot of corruption in the URA but I have thoroughly cleaned it. We have dispersed the URA crowd. We shall clean all other institutions that have corrupt people,” Museveni said during the reading of the budget earlier this month.

Speaking about the resignations, the URA board said a new era of integrity had started at the tax boy

“Management wishes to reiterate that integrity; patriotism and professionalism will define the new era at URA developing Uganda together,” a statement by the board said in part.