Kampala city businessman Drake Lubega Francis has been fined 60 million Ugandan shillings for producing the banned plastic bags commonly known as Buvera.
Drake Lubega, 60 years old and a resident of Elizabeth Avenue in Kololo , Kampala district has appeared this afternoon before Buganda road court grade one magistrate Marion Mangeni and pleaded guilty to two offenses including Manufacture of non conforming plastic bags contrary to the Uganda National bureau of Standards act and Making a false statement on the representation of a commodity by forging the UNBS log on the said substandard Beverages.
The magistrate who was presiding over the wildlife and utility court in which Lubega has been charged also ordered Lubega to pay UNBS 2, 622,50 million shillings as destruction fee for the said substandard banned Buveras that were handed back to UNBS.
The magistrate has ruled that Lubegas fine is deterrent to the other would be offenders to desist from ever manufacturing the said substandard Buveras that were banned by the government.
The court further ruled that Lubega was a first time offender who did not waste courts time since he pleaded guilty to the offenses through plea bargaining.
Prosecution states that on the 6th of August 2019 at Jesco industries ltd Bweyogerere Trading center in Wakiso district, being the managing director of the said Jesco industries limited and producer of plastic products, manufactured for sale over 200 cartons of packing bags that were not in conformity of the required standards and specifications for the plastic carrier bags and flat bags.
He is also said to have forged the UNBS log on the said packing bags to allege that they were indeed of standard well as not.
The impounded substandard Beveras included Nzito , Jesco and black packing brands weighing 4445kgs.
While in court, the said impounded exhibits were also brought in court as evidence to prove the case.
Drake however covered his face while in the court docket yo prevent the media from taking his photographs.