AfricaPress-Tanzania: EIGHT people, including former senior officers with the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), appeared before Mwanza Resident Magistrate’s Court at Mwanza on Friday, facing 94 economic sabotage related crimes, including money laundering and occasioning loss of over 8bn/- to the Authority.
They are Deogratius Lema and Aike Mapuli, both former Senior Accountants at TPA head office, Marystella Minja, who was Accounting Officer at TPA Headquarters, Thomas Akile, former Accountant at Mwanza Office and Ibrahim Lusato, the then Assistant Accountant at Mwanza Port.
The rest are Wendelin Tibuhwa, former cashier at Mwanza Harbour Centre, James Mbedule, former Tax Officer at Mwanza Port Station and Leocard Kipengele, a private advocate from Mnengele and Associates Company and ELA Advocates.
Before Resident Magistrate Bonavencha Lema, the accused persons were not allowed to enter plea to the charges because the case against them falls under the Economic and Organised Crime Control Act.
Other charges include leading organised crime, forgery of different documents transferring the money in question, uttering false documents and stealing by public servants.
The magistrate ordered the accused persons to remain in remand because his court lacked jurisdiction to entertain anything, including the question of bail and that money laundering, as one of offences they are facing was not bailable under the law. He adjourned the case to June 26, 2020 for mention.
Investigations into the matter, according to the prosecution, led by Senior State Attorneys Castuce Ndamugoba and Yamiko Mlekano, as well as a prosecutor with Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) Dismas Muganyizi, have not been completed.
Prosecuting, the trial attorneys told the court that the accused persons committed the offences on diverse dates between February 2015 and February 2020 at the Tanzania Ports Authority offices in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza cities.
The accused persons are alleged, within the same period and places, to have furthered a criminal racket with a view of either to reap profit or obtaining benefits. Within the same period, they allegedly forged and subsequently uttered to the offices some documents purportedly transferring the money.
It is alleged that within the same period and places in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, the accused persons stole a total sum of 8.3bn/-, the property of TPA.
The prosecution further alleged that between February 2015 and February 2020, at the offices of TPA in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, knowingly and by their willful acts, the accused persons caused the Authority to suffer a pecuniary loss of the said amount of money.
On money laundering, the prosecution charges the accused of acquiring the money while knowing at the time of such acquisition that the amount was proceeds of predicate offence to the money laundering.
Earlier on Friday, the PCCB issued a statement signed by the Bureaus’ Public Relations Officer, Ms Doreen Kapwani, in which the public was notified over the arraignment of the accused persons in connection with the offences in question.
She stated that despite bringing the eight suspects to court, the PCCB would continue with investigations to determine the other amount of stolen money, including finding and taking legal action against other suspects involved in the matter so that they could be joined in the trial.
Among those on the wanted list is Arnold Temba, who is an Advocate and Director of Mnengele & Associates Company and ELA Advocates, which is based in Dar es Salaam.
