US national fined Sh500,000 for illegally obtaining Tanzania ID
What you need to know:
- Mr Yaki Lee, alias Khalid Juma, pleaded guilty to multiple offenses at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam, including providing false information and unlawful access to Tanzania's National ID.
Dar es Salaam. An American citizen has been ordered to pay Sh500,000 or spend six months in jail after pleading guilty to unlawfully obtaining a Tanzanian national ID.
Mr Yaki Lee, alias Khalid Juma, pleaded guilty to multiple offenses at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam, including providing false information and unlawful access to Tanzania's National ID.
After pleading guilty, Mr Lee opted to pay the fine in order to escape a six-month jail sentence, and the court ordered that he be repatriated to the US.
Mr. Lee said he regrets committing the crime, asked for lenient punishment, and promised to distance himself from such offenses.
However, the Magistrate urged the court to impose a tough punishment to deter other people from committing such offenses.
In criminal case number 169/2023, Mr Lee was also charged with unlawfully staying in Tanzania.
He was accused by immigration officers of having committed the offense on September 14, this year.
Mr. Lee was on the same day accused of providing false information to immigration officials regarding his nationality in order to obtain a Tanzanian passport.
He was also accused of obtaining a Tanzanian national ID using fraudulent documents and submitting forged documents, such as a Tanzanian birth certificate.
