Author: FAUSTINE KAPAMA
AfricaPress-Tanzania: FIVE persons, including a witchdoctor, appeared before the Mwanza Resident Magistrate’s Court in Mwanza City facing 16 charges relating to using fraudulently names of former First Lady Salma Kikwete and Moo Foundation, to obtain money from different people.
They are Werason Ngedenge, who is the witchdoctor, Raphael Kipingiri, a farmer, Luck Paul, a businessman, Musa Masami, also a businessman and Richard Masalu, a freelancer.
Before Resident Magistrate Boniventure Lema, the accused were not allowed to enter plea to the charges.
The magistrate informed the accused persons that the charges against them have been filed under the Economic and Organised Crime Control Act.
Such charges include conspiracy to commit an offence, impersonating, obtaining money by false pretences, misuse of information and money laundering.
He said that his court lacked jurisdiction to entertain anything, including the question of bail and that the offence of money laundering was not bailable.
He ordered the accused to go to remand until August 26, 2020, when the case will be mentioned.
Investigations into the matter, according to the prosecution led by State Attorneys Jacqueline Nyantory and Robert Kidando, have not been completed.
Prosecuting, the trial attorneys told the court that between January 1, 2018 and June 10, 2020 at various places within Nyamagana District in Mwanza City, all accused persons conspired together to commit an offence of obtaining money by false pretences.
According to the prosecution, between December 1, 2019 and August 5, 2020 at Shamaliwa A Kishiri area within Nyamagana District, with intent to defraud the public, Ngendenge falsely presented himself on a facebook page as Salma Kikwete.
It is alleged that between December 23, 2018 and July 17, 2020 at various places within the City of Mwanza, with intent to deceive, Paul and Masalu obtained 2,115,333/- from different people via Vodacom numbers registered in the name of Zuwena Salehe and Sylvester Lugwisha.
The prosecution told the court that between November 14, 2019 and July 26, 2020 in the city, with intent to deceive, Ngedenge and Masalu obtained a total sum of 3,196,722/- from different people through Vodacom numbers registered in the names of Maria Ndomba, Kange Ibrahim and Paul Luhanga.
It is alleged that the accused persons did, between April 27, 2019 and August 1, 2020 in the City of Mwanza, with intent to deceive, Masani and Masalu allegedly obtained a total of 4,970,013 from different people using Vodacom numbers registered in names of Magreth Joseph, Asteria Mgusi and James Manoti.
The court heard further that between July 27 and 30, 2020 at various places in the city, with intent to deceive, Kipingili and Masalu obtained from different people 99,500/- through Vodacom number registered in the name of Ndebile Lutonja.
In all these transactions, according to the prosecution, all accused persons falsely pretended that they are accountants of either Salma Kikwete or Moo Foundations and they offered loans with simple conditions.
Masalu was charged alone with the count of misuse of information in between February and August 5, 2020, at various places within Nyamagana District, being an agent of service providers of Vodacom, Halotel and Airtel, allegedly misused customer information.
The prosecution told the court that Masalu sold Sim Cards biometrically registered in other people’s National Identification Cards.
All accused persons are also facing a total of four money laundering charges, which are alleged to have been committed between September 6, 2018 and August 3, 2020.
It is alleged that within the period at various places within the city of Mwanza, Ngedenge, Kipingiri, Paul, Masami and Masalu acquired from different people a total sum of 10,381,568/-, while they knew that at the time of receipt, the sum was proceeds of a predicate offence of obtaining money by false pretences
