By Spy Uganda
It’s a loss for the defiant smugglers of Kenyan Kaysalt into Uganda after an ever-alert Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) team intercepted and impounded a full truck in Jinja.
This salt continues to illegally enter Uganda even with its inscription ‘FOR SALE IN KENYA ONLY’.
In 2020, URA revealed that the government loses at least $270,000 (about Shs 985 million) per day to smuggling.
Smuggling of Kaysalt is common on the Uganda-Kenya border towns of Busia and Malaba as it is practised by the seemingly innocent women, disabled persons and children who are paid to do that by rich traders and later after passing the border, this salt is loaded on trucks to Kampala and other parts of the country.
In an exclusive interview last month with our chief Spy Andrew Irumba Paul Karatunga the Supervisor of Customs Enforcement in Eastern Uganda, revealed that once captured smuggling, the importer is slapped with a 50% surcharge, triple the price one pays legally. “We Charge shs440 per Kg of salt, but when we arrest you with illegal entry, you’re charged shs 1600 per Kg. We also charge the carrier/conveyor (means of transport). And we can charge up to USD 10000.”
He said, for instance, in July 2024, 11 tones of smuggled goods were seized which ‘manufactured’ Ugx16m as penalties.
Further, URA statistics revealed that from January to May 2024, 4643 interceptions were made on smugglers and Ugx7B was paid as penalty fees. This, Karatunga said was data for the Eastern axis i.e Malaba, Busia,Rwakhakha, Busitema, Mbale and Amdat (Karamoja) border points only.
Also, the Authority from June to July made 1733 interceptions against smugglers and Ugx2.71B was recovered as penalties.Â
