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Stephen Tarus, a former assistant minister for internal security in Kenya, has been arrested and remanded in Uganda over allegations of smuggling 13 kilograms of gold into the country using forged documents. The gold is worth about $845,821 according to calculateme.com.
Tarus was detained last week and arraigned before a Ugandan anti-corruption court on Wednesday, January 11, 2024. He was ordered to remain in Luzira prison until January 18, pending investigations into his involvement in a gold smuggling ring with links to Kampala.
He is expected to face charges of gold smuggling, fraud and forgery of Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) documents, including a receipt claiming to have paid $30,000 in Kampala for the movement of the gold.
The 57-year-old served as an assistant minister under the late President Mwai Kibaki and as Kenya’s high commissioner to Australia between 2009 and 2012. He was also a member of parliament for Emgwen constituency between 2003 and 2007.
Uganda is a regional hub for illicit gold smuggled from neighboring countries, mainly the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan and smaller flows from Kenya, according to reports by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.
The smuggled gold is often claimed to be of Ugandan origin, supported by fraudulent documentation that is difficult for the authorities to disprove. From Uganda, the gold finds its way to international markets, with the United Arab Emirates being a major destination, according to a 2017 report by the United Nations Group of Experts.
Tarus faces up to three years in a Ugandan jail if the allegations against him are proven by the court. He is yet to comment on the matter or appoint a lawyer to represent him.
