Singer Jose Chameleon in Trouble over South Sudanese Car
The Anti-corruption court has issued criminal summons for popular music star Joseph Mayanja aka Dr. Jose Chameleon to appear and face charges related to his failure to pay import duty tax worth more than Shs 137 million.
The Anti-Corruption Court Chief Magistrate, Pamela Lamunu Ocaya issued the criminal summons on Tuesday requiring Mayanja to appear before her on July 30 to answer the offenses against him.
Mayanja faces two accounts of being in possession of unaccustomed goods and failure to produce documents when required to in line with the East African Community Customs Management Act of 2004.
According to the charge sheet signed by Simon Peter Ogwang, a customs officer with Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Mayanja was found in possession of a South Sudanese vehicle registration number SSD 499B Toyota Land Cruiser V8.
He was intercepted outside Masengere Building near Bulange, Mengo on April 12, 2020 moments before he appeared on Buganda Kingdom’s BBS Television.
A video went viral on social media showing the singer asking the tax officials to go and pick the documents from his home. Mayanja couldn’t be reached for a comment on the charges against him.
Ogwang says they tasked Mayanja to avail the URA team with documentation regarding the legal status of the vehicle in Uganda, which he promised to bring in vain. URA notes that the artist has never paid the import tax duty f vehicle for the vehicle valued at Shs 137 million.
