Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam WEednesday set free prominent businessman and the Executive Chairman of the Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL), Harbinder Sethi, after agreeing to compensate the government over 26bn/-.
Principal Resident Magistrate Huruma Shaidi directed the businessman to settle such an amount within a year following a plea bargaining agreement he entered with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to end the 350bn/- economic trial against him.
The magistrate also gave the businessman conditional discharge not to commit any offence within one year after convicting him of one count of obtaining money by false pretences.
Initially, Sethi was facing 12 charges alongside two others.
After entering into the agreement, the DPP dropped others and remained with only one count.
Before imposing the orders in question, the magistrate received strong mitigating factors from Advocate Melchizedeck Lutema, for the businessman, to have his client given a lenient sentence.
The advocate told the court that the businessman is a first offender and has remained in remand for over four years.
He submitted that the businessman was innocent, but has been held responsible under vicarious liability principle as the boss of the company, which had defaulted to pay the said loss.
