By Sandra Birungi

City tycoon, Hassan Basajjabalaba has been sent to Luzira prison after he was charged with fresh charges of forging a judge’s consent to evade taxes.

Basajjabalaba was sent to prison yesterday, Wednesday; he was charged again by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). The taxes in question amounting to about sh20bn arose out of the about sh142bn compensation to Basajjabalaba’s  companies under Haba Group Ltd., for the City markets. It is also subject of another query and has seen two ministers resign over it.

The DPP, Richard Butera also said on Wednesday that his office is taking up the issue of Basajjabalaba’s stealth appearance in Court on Monday to take plea under private prosecution. “Police was told by his agents that he was abroad and were waiting for him. His agents went, staged a prosecution and he is released on bail. He asks for his passport and it is given to him and now he was using it to escape. Both the applicant and the Court knew he was wanted… this cannot be allowed. It is abuse of the Court process. We shall continue with our prosecution and we are taking up this issue with the judiciary. It is a method of escaping justice…,” contacted.

DPP’s spokesperson, Jane Okuo Kajuga said on Wednesday that Basajjabalaba should be able to explain why he sneaked to the wrong Court for plea despite knowing that he was wanted. She went ahead to add that the charges against him were sanctioned last year by the DPP and Police had summons to him after deceiving them that he was out of the country.

“We are studying the record in that Court and we are definitely taking that matter further. That is abuse of the legal process.” Kajuga said.

Basajjabalaba denied all three charges.