‘I made a silly mistake; I’m not a criminal!’- Ugandan caught with undeclared $$
Chelsea Mutyaba said when he chose to hide the vast sums of money he was doing so because when he travelled previously corrupt Customs officers would alert thugs that he was loaded and they would target him.
He said this happened to him in his country, in Peru and Fiji.
“Have mercy on me. I am not a criminal; I just made a silly mistake!” he stated.
Mutyaba then told the court that he could prove the monies belonged to him and presented a bank document stating a cash withdrawal for a similar amount before he left Uganda.
He then told the court that he was “scared” of going to prison, as he had never fallen on the other side of the law before.
In a final pitch to sway the court, he said he longed to go home to his children and family members who have not been informed of his troubles.
Facts of the case
Mutyaba was caught on March 5, 2020, when he was getting ready to exit the Territory with the sum of $23,241.
He allegedly concealed $13, 001 in the left side of his Adidas shoe and $10,240 was hidden inside a pair of pants in his suitcase.
The Ugandan was subsequently transported to the Road Town Police Station with the cash, which was later tallied and photographed by members of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF).
In addition, he was interviewed under caution when he revealed that while he lived in Africa and worked as an accountant; he came from Grenada where his baby’s mother resided and was heading back there.
The defendant reportedly told members of the RVIPF that most of the cash came from selling a piece of land he inherited from his father in his home country.
According to Senior Prosecutor Tamara Foster, the price the land was sold for was reportedly equivalent to US $18,000.
She said the defendant informed that he arrived in the Territory with $25,000, and used some of the cash to pay for his accommodation and food.
He stated that he was aware that he had to declare the cash but chose not to do so, to avoid the authorities.
He had plans to scout out a viable business venture and had planned to rent a house in the Territory, but the price was too high, the court heard.
Mutyaba arrived in the Virgin Islands on February 29, 2020.
He did not have a legal representative.
The African man will be sentenced on March 19, 2020 Senior Magistrate Tamia N. Richards said.
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18 Responses to “‘I made a silly mistake; I’m not a criminal!’- Ugandan caught with undeclared $$”
Not buying it.
What this man was doing is very common in his country.
i totally believe his story.