ONGWEDIVA – Oshakati-based medical professional, Dr Livingstone Mugimu, whose N$22 million was forfeited to state last year due to alleged tax evasion, has allegedly committed suicide in his country of birth, Uganda.
According to the Daily Monitor, an online newspaper paper in Uganda, the 56-year-old doctor allegedly consumed poison.
A tin containing suspected poison was allegedly discovered in his bedroom, according to police investigators in Uganda.
The doctor is alleged to have committed suicide after more than Shs300m, equaling N$1 million, was confiscated from him by the Ugandan government. In his alleged suicide note, Mugimu reportedly said he was frustrated by the robbery of his money and property by the police, the Daily Monitor reported.
Meanwhile in Namibia, a memorial is scheduled for later today at his home in Oshakati West. He will be laid to rest on Wednesday in Kampala, Uganda.
The late doctor made headlines in various media outlets when the Ministry of Finance, through its Inland Revenue division, allegedly transferred N$22 million from his Bank Windhoek account into the hands of the Bank of Namibia.
The Namibian last year reported that the doctor, who has been practicing in Namibia for the last 26 years, has evaded tax worth millions since 2015, despite making claims worth N$26 million from the state-owned medical aid fund, PSEMAS. It is alleged that accrued penalties worth N$17.7 million and more than N$2.5 million in interest brought his total debt to government to at least N$37.9 million.
His appeal to have his money returned to him in the Supreme Court did not yield any fruitful results, after failing in lower courts.
As though his Namibian nightmare was not enough, authorities in his native Uganda allegedly intercepted him at Mutukula border post on October 6 last year through the Joint Anti-Terror Taskforce (JATT) and Interpol while travelling to Uganda.
There were claims that Mugimu had links to another Ugandan national, based in Australia, who is wanted for treason charges, the Daily Monitor reported further.
Although the charges were deemed bogus and he was released by Interpol, he did not receive his confiscated money.
Prior to his death, Mugimu distributed the remainder of his properties among his relatives.