AfricaPress-Tanzania: FORMER Chief Accountant with Tanzania Local Government Workers Union (TALGWU) Sospeter Omollo (49) on Tuesday appeared before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam charged with 48 economic counts involving over 400m/-.
The charges include 46 counts relating to forgery of different cheques, one count of embezzlement and misappropriation and money laundering. Before Senior Resident Magistrate Yusto Ruboroga, the accused, denied the charges.
He was remanded in custody because the offence of money laundering is not bailable. The case was adjourned to February 19, 2021, for mention.
Investigations, according to the prosecution led by two officials with Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) Lupyana Mwakatobe and Hassan Dunia, have not been completed.
The court heard that the accused person committed the offences on diverse dates between September 22, 2015 and June 5, 2017 at Bank of Baroda, Ilala Branch within Ilala Municipality in Dar es Salaam.
It is alleged that with intent to defraud, the Chief Accountant forged 46 cheques bearing different numbers and amounts of money, purporting to show that they were duly signed by some people, including Kibwana Njaa.
The prosecution told the court that within the same period in the city, being a public official employed by the TALGWU, the accused persons fraudulently misappropriated 410,170,000/-, property which was entrusted to him as a public official.
On money laundering, the prosecution charged Omollo that within the same period at the Bank, acquired the said amount from a bank account of the TALGWU at Boa Bank while he knew that the money was proceeds of embezzlement and misappropriation, a predicate offence.
Meanwhile, the PCCB has successfully recovered more than 114m/- that had been taken through criminal means. This was revealed by Ilala Region PCCB Bureau Chief Christopher Myava at a press conference in Dar es Salaam.
Commander Myava said PCCB successfully recovered 33,001,778/- from Joseph Jumbe. He said the money illegally paid to Elibariki Kaondo as compensation for his plot during implementation of the Standard Gauge Railways (SGR) Project.
“On September 29, 2020, the PCCB received a complaint from Mr Jumbe complaining that Mr Kaondo had taken money as compensation for a plot which is under the SGR Project Tabata Kinyerezi area,” he said.
He added that the plot in question was in dispute, which is pending before the Ilala District and Housing Tribunal.
According to him, the PCCB conducted an investigation and found that while the case was going on Mr Kaondo through fraud or bribery means managed to receive the compensation but later the Tribunal ruled that the plot belonged to Mr Jumbe and was the one who was entitled to it.
Commander Myava said the PCCB contacted Mr Kaondo to return the money amounting to 33,001,778/- and he agreed to return the amount. He said the money was handed to Mr Jumbe on Tuesday at the Bureau’s Ilala Regional offices.
In another incident, Commander Myava said that on September 21, 2020, the PCCB received a complaint from the Director of one NGO asking for an investigation into empty payments made to individuals in collaboration with the agency’s staff.
He said the fraud, which started in 2017 the employees prepared fraudulent payments amounting to 301, 189,269/-, which the suspects also agreed to return and so far a total of 151,330,600/- has been returned to the NGO.
He also said in another incident that the PCCB Ilala Region saved a total of 50m/- belonging to the Public Provident Fund (PPF) and the Local Government Employees Pension Fund (PSSF).
He said the amount had been provided as a loan to the Savings and Loan Cooperative Association of the Tanzania Railways Corporation (Railways Saccos), which later failed to repay in time.
