A senior Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) manager has been arrested after allegedly being caught red-handed receiving US$60,000 (about Shs220 million) in a dramatic sting operation that has exposed fresh allegations of corruption within Uganda’s tax administration.
Geoffrey Ssozi, the URA Manager for External Operations in the Customs Department, was arrested last Thursday after detectives from the authority’s internal investigative wing reportedly intercepted a cash transaction at a restaurant in Kampala.
According to URA officials, Ssozi had allegedly demanded money from an investor in exchange for making an ongoing tax audit against the investor’s company disappear.
The arrest has sent shockwaves through the revenue body, coming at a time when URA is stepping up efforts to crack down on tax evasion, revenue leakages and misconduct among its own employees.
Ssozi, however, has strongly denied the allegations, insisting that he was deliberately framed in what he described as a much bigger battle involving suspected cargo consolidation fraud and powerful business interests.
From $100,000 demand to a $60,000 deal
URA Assistant Commissioner for Public and Corporate Affairs Robert Kalumba told journalists at the authority’s headquarters in Nakawa on Monday that the alleged bribery scheme emerged during an audit being conducted on a taxpayer.
According to Kalumba, Ssozi and members of his team allegedly worked with a clearing agent to approach the taxpayer with an offer to terminate or suppress the audit in exchange for money.
The amount initially demanded was reportedly $100,000, but the parties allegedly negotiated the figure down to $60,000.
“There was an audit being conducted on the taxpayer. Ssozi’s team, with the assistance of a clearing agent, reached out to convince the taxpayer that they could kill the audit,” Kalumba said.
The phrase “kill the audit” has added a particularly explosive dimension to the allegations because tax audits are a critical component of URA’s mandate to establish whether businesses and individuals are declaring and paying the correct amount of taxes.
If proven, the allegations would suggest that officials entrusted with enforcing Uganda’s tax laws may have attempted to turn the audit process into an avenue for personal enrichment.
Whistleblower triggers sting operation
URA said the alleged transaction did not go undetected because a whistleblower alerted the authority to the suspected corruption.
The information reportedly triggered an internal investigation that culminated in the sting operation in which Ssozi was arrested while allegedly receiving the money.
The clearing agent who allegedly helped facilitate the transaction was also arrested and is now assisting investigators.
Officials said investigators are examining whether the operation involved other individuals within URA and whether the alleged attempt to suppress the audit was an isolated incident or part of a wider network.
The arrest therefore threatens to widen beyond Ssozi as investigators follow the money trail and interrogate the circumstances surrounding the alleged deal.
URA officials said the authority’s legal team was finalising charges against the suspects, while the money recovered during the operation is expected to be presented before court as an exhibit.
The authority has not yet disclosed the identity of the taxpayer whose audit allegedly became the centre of the bribery investigation.
Ssozi rejects bribery allegations
But while URA has presented the arrest as evidence of its internal crackdown on corruption, Ssozi has offered a dramatically different account.
Speaking during his arrest, the manager denied that he was corrupt and described the allegations as “half-truths” designed to undermine him because of his previous enforcement work.
Ssozi claimed that the person who handed him the package was not simply an investor, as described by investigators, but a prominent cargo consolidator who handles business for major traders.
He also identified the coordinating agent as someone he has known for years.
“The gentleman who handed me the package—the so-called investor—is a big cargo consolidator. The agent coordinating with him has been known to me as the owner of Simbaland since 2013,” Ssozi said in his defence.
His account introduces another potentially explosive angle into the case: the possibility of a dispute involving customs enforcement, cargo consolidation and businesses accused of manipulating the tax system.
Ssozi argued that his past record as a customs enforcement officer may have made him a target for individuals unhappy with his actions.
“When I was sent to Jinja in 2012, my briefing was clear: deal with the massive fraud at Jinja Customs,” he said.
The remarks suggest that Ssozi believes the allegations against him are connected to old enforcement battles and attempts by business interests to retaliate against officers who disrupt lucrative customs-related operations.
However, his claims have not been independently established, and the bribery allegations remain subject to investigation and possible court proceedings.
URA vows to clean its own house
The arrest has also provided URA management with an opportunity to reinforce its public anti-corruption campaign.
Commissioner General John R. Musinguzi said the authority would not tolerate corruption among its staff, regardless of an employee’s rank or position.
“The fight against corruption is intensifying within URA, and we continue to uphold a zero-tolerance policy,” Musinguzi said.
He urged members of the public to report cases in which URA employees demand money or engage in other forms of misconduct.
The latest case is particularly significant because corruption within a revenue collection agency can have consequences far beyond the individual transaction.
URA is responsible for collecting billions of shillings in taxes that finance government operations, infrastructure, public services and other national programmes. Any attempt by officials to interfere with tax assessments for private gain risks depriving the government of revenue while creating an uneven playing field for businesses that comply with the law.
A compromised audit process can also undermine confidence in the entire tax administration system.
Businesses that pay their taxes lawfully could potentially find themselves disadvantaged if competitors are able to manipulate officials to reduce or eliminate tax liabilities.
Investigation could expose wider network
The arrest of the clearing agent could prove crucial to the investigation.
As a person allegedly involved in arranging the transaction, the agent could provide investigators with information about how the alleged deal was initiated, who negotiated the amount, who was expected to benefit and whether other URA officials were involved.
URA officials have indicated that investigators are pursuing possible accomplices.
The central question now is whether the alleged $60,000 payment was an isolated attempt involving Ssozi and the agent, or whether it forms part of a broader network exploiting customs and tax processes.
Investigators will also have to establish what exactly was promised in exchange for the money, whether the taxpayer actually stood to benefit from the alleged suppression of the audit and whether any steps had already been taken to interfere with the audit before the arrest.
For Ssozi, the case is equally consequential. His claim that he was framed over a cargo-related enforcement dispute is likely to come under scrutiny as investigators reconstruct the events leading to the restaurant meeting.
The seized cash, communications between the parties and testimony from those involved could become critical evidence if the matter proceeds to court.
For now, URA is presenting the arrest as a warning that its anti-corruption drive will reach even senior officials, while Ssozi maintains that he is the victim of a calculated setup.
The competing accounts have transformed what began as a suspected bribery transaction into a potentially wider investigation touching on customs enforcement, cargo consolidation, tax audits and alleged corruption within Uganda’s revenue collection system.
