A former Internal Security assistant minister during the late President Mwai Kibaki's reign, Stephen Tarus, was arrested in Uganda last week on charges of smuggling 13 kilograms of gold into the country using forged documents.
Tarus was subsequently arraigned before an anti-corruption court on Wednesday, where the bench directed his remand at Luzira Prison until January 18, pending investigations into his alleged offenses.
Further, Ugandan police are also investigating whether Tarus, 57, might be part of a larger gold smuggling ring in Kampala.
He is set to be charged with gold smuggling, fraud, and falsifying Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) documents, including a receipt falsely indicating a payment of approx. Kes.4.8 million in Kampala for the transportation of the gold.
Tarus was assistant Internal Security Minister under President Kibaki's administration from 2009 to 2012.
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