FORMER principal investigator with Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) Cosmas Batanyita has asked the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to expedite the signing of plea bargaining to end his 400m/- money laundering and corrupt transactions trial.
Batanyita made an appeal at the Kisutu Resident Magistrates’ Court in Dar es Salaam when the case came up for mention where he used the occasion to update the court on the progress that had so far been made on his request.
He explained that his relatives had already met with the team under the DPP’s office, which is coordinating the process to discuss the issue and only the DPP was being awaited to conclude the matter.
The accused thus wanted to know from the prosecution the next cause of action towards signing the agreement.
State Attorney Eater Martin informed the court that the trial attorney, Senior State Attorney Wankyo Simon, who is handling the case, was not present.
She promised to forward the issue to him and asked the accused to be patient until the next court session.
Otherwise, the state attorney told the court that investigation into the matter had not been completed. The case was adjourned until March 20, 2020 for mention.
In the case, the prosecution alleges that on February 9, 2019 at Upanga in Kinondoni District in the city, being an employee of PCCB, Batanyika corruptly solicited 200m/-from Hussein Gulamal Hashan to destroy the evidence implicating him in tax evasion allegations.
Such allegations, according to the prosecution, were under investigation.
The prosecution alleged further that such undertaking by the accused was a matter related to the affairs of his principal, PCCB.
On February 10, 2019 at Saba Saba in Temeke District, being PCCB employee, the principal investigator is alleged to have corruptly obtained an advantage of $20,000 from Faizal Jafferali Hasham as an inducement to destroy the evidence implicating Hussein Gulamal Hashan in tax evasion.
The court was also told that on February 13, 2019 at the PCCB sub-headquarters located in Masaki, Kinondoni District, Batanyika allegedly corruptly solicited an advantage of $50,000 from Thangavelu Nallavan Vall.
Such amount, the prosecution alleged, was an inducement to destroy the evidence implicating Vall in tax evasion allegations which were under investigation.
The prosecution alleged that such undertaking was a matter related to the affairs of the PCCB, the accused’s principal.
Furthermore, the prosecution alleged that on February 14, 2019 along Haile Selassie Road near Marry Brown in Kinondoni District, being a PCCB employee, the accused solicited an advantage of $20,000 from Vall for similar claims of inducement. Batanyika was also charged with three other counts of money laundering.
It is alleged that on February 10, 2019 at Saba Saba in Temeke District, the accused corruptly acquired $20,000 dollars from Faizal Hasham.
The prosecution alleged further that on February 19, 2019 at Electron Bureau de Change located at Village Supper Market in Oysterbay, Kinondoni District, for the purpose of concealing the illicit origin, Batanyika converted $7,000 into 16,100,000/-.
