By George Tinka
The menace of smuggling at Uganda’s porous and unmanned borders appears to be unstoppable in spite of the determined efforts by the Uganda Revenue Authority- URA to end the vice with goods worth billions of shillings being contrabanded into the country from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
With the existence of porous borders coupled with the laxity among security officials and corruption, the business of smuggling is growing and appearing increasingly unabated.
Goods ranging from cosmetics, jewelry, clothes, minerals among others are smuggled into Uganda every day by either Ugandan or DR Congo nationals including Congolese refugees who cross into the country through the porous borders especially along Lake Albert in Kikuube and Kagadi districts.
URA statistics indicate that government losses close to Shs 985 million per day to smuggling in unpaid taxes.
On May 10, 2023 Spice FM undercover reporter pitched camp in Buhuuka landing site and followed one undisclosed smuggler who moves three times a week to DR Congo to smuggle cosmetics into Uganda by boat.
The smuggler (names withheld) sets off in the evening at around 5pm from Nsoga Landing Site commonly known as “parkin” in Kyakapere Village, Buhuuka parish in Kyangwali sub county, Kikuube District. He pays a boat fare of Sh30,000 for a journey that takes him about five hours to reach at Tchomia Landing site in Ituri Province, DR Congo which is roughly 30 kilometers from the Ugandan border.
According to one Tuti who once worked as a blocker for smuggled goods, smugglers communicate to their counterparts in DR Congo before they approach Tchomia border where they find goods already packed and loaded on the boat.
“Due to the tight security at the URA customs office in Nsonga landing site, the goods are delayed in DR Congo but later transported in the night. At around 11:30pm, boats from either side of the countries meet at an agreed place on Lake Albert where the goods are off loaded from one boat to the other with smaller canoes in most cases used to transport them to Uganda,” says Tuti.
One of the smugglers who preferred anonymity says a box of Caro light cosmetics in Uganda is sold at 396,000 shillings and at least a smuggler can carry between 15-20 boxes per trip as most of them cross thrice a week into the country. This means that Uganda losses Shs17.8 million – 23.7 million weekly culminating into over Shs. 1.1 billion shillings annually on smuggled cosmetics per dealer.
The operation is repeated a number of times by smugglers who deal in different products like Palm Oil commonly known as ‘’Engazi”, medicine, cigarettes and many others which leaves Uganda vulnerable in tax collection at Nsonga Landing site in Buhuka Parish, Kikuube District.
On reaching Nsonga landing site in Uganda, three days later, the goods are further transported to Kyangwali Refugee Settlement where some are sold while others are sold to traders in Kikuube, Hoima, Masindi and other districts within Uganda.
Spice FM has also learnt that there is a URA border checkpoint at Mwikamiro village along Kyangwali-Buhuuka road, about four kilometers from Nsonga Landing site. This border point by the time our reporter reached there, it was unmanned, creating more room for smugglers to move freely.
According to a source in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement who preferred anonymity, the smugglers use drivers who are employed by organisations serving refugees in Kyangwali refugee settlement to smuggle the goods.
“When the security officials manning the URA check point impound a car of an organization like the Uganda Red Cross Society, they do not check it. Smugglers identified this gap hence they resorted to conniving with the drivers to smuggle the goods without any stoppage,” the source said.
He added that some smugglers cut the bottom of the jerry cans, put cosmetics inside and later seal it by the use of a hot knife while some use sacks of maize grains to transport the smuggled goods which are hard to trace by security and URA enforcement officers.
In January 2020, URA arrested a woman who was trying to smuggle into the country contraband cosmetics from DR Congo. The suspect who was intercepted in a bus at the Mpondwe border post from DR Congo was carrying the cosmetics in a dummy baby.
Smugglers, refugees, police informants and intelligence officials have all told Spice FM that Nsonga landing site has emerged as a smuggling hub of goods from DR Congo.
Geoffrey Beraheru, an economist said smugglers have connected syndicates in Uganda and across its borders which makes it difficult for them to be traced or arrested.
According to the Uganda Refugee Policy, embedded in the 2006 Refugees Act and 2010 Refugees Regulations (2) grants refugees relative freedom of movement and the right to seek employment which Beraheru says gives them an opportunity to land on the “juicy illicit trade”.
Beraheru added that government not only loses taxes through smuggling but also the vice destabilizes the circulation of money/economy since the informal sector starts to operate outside the regulations of the Bank of Uganda hence government can’t effectively monitor the monetary and fiscal policies.
He also noted that the vice exposes the country to insecurity since firearms can easily be sneaked into the country hence triggering insecurity.
Smuggling is the illegal trade in goods to avoid paying customs duties and taxes. The 18th century was known as the golden age of smuggling. It was usually organized by gangs who were funded by investors or ventures. They chose secluded parts of the coastline to land cargos from ships. The current generation has borrowed this knowledge that has seen Uganda lose billions in uncovered tax.
Micheal Kyakashari, the Hoima deputy Resident District Commissioner said smuggling must be addressed decisively. He has noted that there is need to deploy a multi-sectoral team of security personnel at all porous border points to curb the vice.
‘‘I have asked the Uganda Revenue Authority to work closely with sister security agencies and put more emphasis on ensuring that they close those gaps, make arrests and collect more taxes as they enforce,’’ adds Kyakashari.
Denis Kugonza Kateeba, the Commissioner Tax Investigations at Uganda Revenue Authority says, they are yet to receive information regarding the involvement of the security officials manning the URA check points conniving with the smugglers.
This cross-border investigation was supported by Thomson Reuters in collaboration with African Centre for Media Excellence-ACME and prepared for publication by Spice FM.
