Kivukoni Court sentences businessman Kagale to 20 years in prison for tax evasion, fraud

DAR ES SALAAM: Businessman Frank Kagale has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of tax evasion and electronic system fraud that caused the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) a loss of 971.9m/-.

Kagale was convicted by the Kivukoni Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam after the court found him guilty of three offences, including causing financial loss to TRA, tax evasion and deceiving an electronic system.

Resident Magistrate-in-Charge Is-haq Kuppa said the court reached the decision after considering the evidence, exhibits, defence arguments and relevant laws.

For the offence of causing financial loss, Kagale was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while for tax evasion he was ordered to pay twice the amount of tax owed or serve a three-year jail term.

The court also convicted him of deceiving an electronic system.

Meanwhile, electronic fiscal device (EFD) technicians, Awadhi Mhavile (28) and Ally Msesya (30), popularly known as Ally Yanga, together with garage supervisor, Salma Ndauka (26), were acquitted after the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them.

Before sentencing, State Attorney Dickson Swai asked the court to impose a harsh sentence, citing the magnitude of the loss caused to the government.

Swai said the government had lost 971,977,771.32, funds that could have been used to finance various development activities through domestic revenue collection.

He argued that the offences had wider economic implications, given TRA’s critical role in collecting domestic revenue, and urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence.

The defence, however, asked the court to reduce Kagale’s sentence, arguing that he was a first-time offender, young and had a family that depended on him.

Kagale also pleaded for leniency, telling the court that he regretted his actions and had never previously committed a criminal offence. He said he had elderly parents, a wife and young children who depended on him.

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He further asked the court to consider his health condition, saying he suffers from asthma, as well as the nearly three years he had spent in remand custody.

However, Magistrate Kuppa said the court had considered submissions from both sides, but also took into account the seriousness of the offences and circumstances surrounding the case before imposing the sentence.

The prosecution had earlier told the court that between May 17 and July of the year before last, the accused used blocked electronic fiscal devices to issue invalid receipts, resulting in losses to TRA.

In another charge, the prosecution alleged that between May and July last year, the accused used the machines to deceive the Commissioner of Tax and enable some taxpayers to unlawfully benefit, causing TRA a loss of 971.9m/-.

After the ruling, TRA lawyer Auni Chilamula urged traders to comply with tax laws by issuing valid receipts, while members of the public were encouraged to demand valid receipts whenever they made purchases.

He said compliance was essential to strengthening domestic revenue collection, which supports government operations and national development.