A section of the affected traders having their goods cleared recently after URA's intervention.
More than 400 traders in Kampala have been rescued from months of financial distress following the intervention of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) in a cargo dispute involving shipping company Credify Africa Limited.
The traders’ consignments, comprising 11 major containers, had been held at the Kenfreight Inland Container Depot (ICD) since September, triggering heavy demurrage charges and widespread losses. The cargo had been consolidated and shipped under a groupage arrangement managed by Credify Africa Limited, with the containers registered in the names of so-called “container leaders,” Joshua Kisaka and Annet Namanda.
Under the groupage system, traders pool goods into a single container to reduce shipping costs. However, investigations by URA revealed that the container leaders allegedly collected millions of shillings from traders to pay import duties but failed to remit the funds to the tax authority. As a result, the consignments were blocked, leaving traders unable to access their goods as storage and demurrage costs mounted.
Following petitions from the affected traders, URA Commissioner General John R. Musinguzi intervened, engaging the Ministry of Finance and the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS). A waiver on inspection fees and penalties was subsequently granted, allowing the clearance process to resume.
URA Assistant Commissioner for Public and Corporate Affairs, Robert Kalumba, clarified that container leaders are only mandated to handle shipping logistics and do not bear responsibility for tax payments. He emphasized that tax obligations remain the direct responsibility of individual importers, working in coordination with URA.
To prevent further exploitation, URA issued House Bills directly to the affected traders, effectively bypassing middlemen. The goods are now being identified and transferred to their rightful owners to complete the clearance process.
“URA has worked tirelessly to ensure that all affected traders get their goods,” said Nicholas Muganga, Supervisor of Customs Warehousing at Kenfreight ICD. “Together with the Customs team, most—if not all—of the traders have been able to identify their cargo.”
For traders like Proscovia Katushabe, a textile dealer in Kikuubo, the development marks the end of months of uncertainty and loss. “We thank URA for helping us recover our goods,” she said.
The case has renewed calls for greater vigilance among importers using groupage systems and highlighted the risks of entrusting tax payments to intermediaries without direct oversight.
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