Category: Justice

{Four officials from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) appeared before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam yesterday charged for stealing several items valued over 100m/- meant for disaster management.}

Before Principal Resident Magistrate Respicious Mwijage, the accused persons were Hamed Yusuph,( 48), Halima Mwanjiro (33), both supplies officers and Martin Tyeah (31) and Mwaija Kimata, (55), all assistant supplies officers. They denied the charges and were released on bail upon meeting the set bail conditions.

The conditions demanded each of them securing one reliable surety, employed in any government institution or registered institution. Such surety, according to the magistrate, was required to sign a bond of 25m/-.

The case was adjourned to August 22 for mention as investigations into the matter, according to the prosecution led by Inspector of Police Jackson Chidunda, have not been completed. It is alleged that the accused persons committed the offence between April and September 2014 at Keko area near Medical Store Department (MSD) warehouse in Temeke District, Dar es Salaam.

The prosecution told the court that being employees of PMO, the accused persons stole 5,074 iron sheets, 200 cooking sets, 348 blankets and 300 sleeping mats, all valued at 100,164,000/-, the property of their employer, which came into their possession by virtual of their employment.

Meanwhile, a Chinese, Senxin Van, yesterday escaped a jail term of three years having managed to pay a fine of 500,000/- for violating immigration laws. Before the same court, Principal Resident Magistrate, Huruma Shaidi, convicted Van of failure to comply with conditions specified in his resident permit on his own plea of guilty.

An Immigration Department prosecutor, Novatus Mlay, had told the court that being a citizen of China, Van was found on July 12, this year at Tenglong Investment Limited in Kinondoni District working as a doctor. According to the prosecution, the Chinese’s working permit allowed him only to work as director in the Tong Xing Foot Wear Company Limited.

Before being sentenced, the Chinese had pleaded for light sentence because he has a family that depend on him and that being the director of the company, the business he was supervising would collapse if given a custodian punishment

{DAR ES SALAAM resident, Salim Mohamed Marwa, alias Komba, who disappeared while in hands of prisons officers at Temeke Regional Hospital, having been linked with murder of Ghanaian businessman, has been arrested and was arraigned before the High Court yesterday.}

Senior State Attorney Neema Haule told Judge Ama Munisi that Marwa, who is charged with murdering the Ghanaian, Joseph Oppong, alongside another accused person, Peter Charles Mayala, was apprehended by the law enforcers recently having remained at large since January last year.

The trial attorney disclosed that at the time the accused persons went into hiding, the trial of his case was in progress and the prosecution had already called six witnesses. Later on, she said, the court was forced to proceed with the trial in his absence where three more witnesses were heard.

In the yesterday’s proceedings, the trial judge asked Marwa on how he was going to proceed with the trial following the disqualification of his advocate he had previously engaged. The accused person requested the court to grant him more time to consult his advocate on the matter.

The judge granted the request and adjourned the trial to August 3, where the accused person would be required to report back on whether his advocate would be willing to be reengaged.

She however, pointed out that if such advocate would turn down the offer, the government would have to hire another advocate for the accused person though the trial was in final stages of presentation of final submissions and opinions of court assessors.

Facts of the case show that on September 2, 2010 in the afternoon, Marwa met the deceased at Morocco area in Kinondoni District, where the deceased intimated to him that he was looking for his long lost relative residing at Bagamoyo, who would help him find a client to buy his five motor vehicles.

Marwa became interested due to the fact that he knew that the person who was identified as Alhasan Baba, alias Isaka because he was also residing at Bagamoyo. The two, thereafter, exchanged their mobile phone numbers and kept in touch.

On September 9, 2010, the deceased arrived at Bagamoyo after being called by Marwa who had told him that he has a client who was interested to buy the vehicles, thus the deceased was required to go there with original documents.

It is stated that after meeting in Bagamoyo, the two went to the house of Marwa’s mother to eat and later went to Bomani Hotel to have some beers. Marwa is alleged to have pretended that they were at the hotel to wait for a client, but in fact he and another person had planned to drug the deceased, steal the original documents relating to the imported vehicles and later kill him.

While having the beers at the hotel, Marwa alleged to have drugged the deceased and left the place while the latter was already unconscious heading to his house where they met Matala and started assaulting him with bush knives until he died due to loss of blood.

On September 27, 2010, Marwa and one Nurdin who later went at large were arrested while trying to sell the deceased’s vehicles. Upon interrogations, the two allegedly admitted to have committed the offence jointly with Mayala and later led the police to where they had buried the deceased body.

Thereafter, the trial took off, but Marwa became sick after the prosecution had called six witnesses. He was taken to Temeke regional hospital where he was admitted before disappearing under mysterious circumstances, while in hands of prisons officers.

{It was a sombre mood among relatives as the military court yesterday jailed six soldiers, among them two junior officers of the elite Special Forces Command to 15 years for plotting to overthrow the government}

It was a sombre mood among relatives as the military court yesterday jailed six soldiers, among them two junior officers of the elite Special Forces Command to 15 years for plotting to overthrow the government.

The other suspects are four men who worked in various capacities in the Office of the Coordinator of Intelligence Services formerly headed by Gen David Sejusa, alias Tinyefuza.

Relatives shed tears after the General Court Martial at Makindye sentenced the group that was convicted of treachery and aiding commission of offence two weeks ago.

On July 5, the court chaired by Lt Gen Andrew Gutti held that prosecution proved the charges of treachery and abetting commission of offence against the accused persons.

Those jailed are Lance Corporals Grace Nasasira Rwakyozi, 39, and Geoffrey Mwebaze Karuhanga, 36, of SFC’s Task force Battalion and Tank Battalion, respectively who were convicted over treachery while Mr Frank Ninsiima, who was an operative in Tinyefuza’s office, was found guilty of aiding or abetting commission of offence.

Others jailed are: James Karuhanga Nayebare, Moses Nuwagaba Kakarugahi and Abel Twinamasiko, alias Rubanuma.

“The offence of treachery is serious in nature and of great consequence to the security of the country.The accused persons were convicted on two charges which attract death as maximum sentence, but courts are reluctant to give long sentences,” said Lt Gen Gutti.

“We are guided by the 1995 Constitution and the sentencing guidelines to consider the three years the convicts have spent on remand,” he added.

However, the convicts through their lawyer, Mr David Mushabe, said they would appeal against the court decision.

“I have instructions to appeal because of the glaring errors in the proceedings which can only be rectified by the Court of Appeal. Both the sentence and the conviction spring from a wrong grounds and the punishment itself is excessive in nature,” said Mr Mushabe.

He asked court to urgently provide them with typed proceedings to enable the convicts pursue justice from a higher court.

{{The charges}}

Court heard that the two soldiers and others still at large, in or around the months of March to May 2013, and while in the areas of Mityana and Kampala, “consciously failed to disclose to proper authorities vital information about the recruitment of people to engage in activities intended to overthrow the legitimate government of Uganda”.
Court records show that the two SFC soldiers, then based in Mityana, were procured by their co-accused persons to recruit colleague presidential guards into “subversive activities”.

Witnesses also told court that Mr Nayebale, Mr Nuwagaba and soldier/ businessman, Mr Abel Twinamasiko in the two months, conspired with others to aid, abet, counsel and procure other persons to overthrow Gen Museveni’s government.

{Meru High Court judge directed four senior officers involved in the case to guarantee the security of the advocate.}

A court on Thursday ordered police protection for a lawyer whose client has sued Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho and four top security officers after claims the advocate had received death threats.

Meru High Court judge Francis Gikonyo directed Tharaka Nithi County Criminal Investigations officer Betty Chepng’eno, Meru South OCPD Beatrice Kiraguri, County Commissioner Florence Amoit and Chuka OCS Emmanuel Juma to ensure the advocate, Ashford Riungu, was protected.

Justice Gikonyo issued the directions to the four officers who appeared before him during the mention of a case where they are sued alongside Dr Kibicho for raiding and destroying liquor in a Chuka factory despite a court order barring them.

Mr Riungu, who is representing Hakim Commercial Agencies, had told the court he has been receiving death threats and he feared that he could be killed.

He wanted his security guaranteed by the officers who are involved in the same case he is handling.

“Mr Riungu alleges that his life is in danger. Following the death of his colleague (Willie Kimanii) who was murdered recently, his allegations cannot be ignored. I therefore direct that you engage him, investigate the allegations and ensure his security,” ruled Mr Gikonyo.

On Thursday, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet failed to appear before Justice Gikonyo to explain why he has failed to arrest Dr Kibicho who is accused of contempt of court.

The case was adjourned to September 15 for further directions.

On December 16, 2015, Hakim Commercial Agencies filed a suit in a Chuka court, seeking an injunction restraining the PS and his officers from harassing it.

The court issued by the orders which the officers from the Interior ministry are accused of defying.

{Five businessmen appeared before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam yesterday charged with 199 counts of forgery, uttering false documents, money laundering, occasioning loss to a specified authority and evading tax to the tune of over 15bn/-.}

They are Mohamed Mustafa Yusufali, alias Mohamedali, alias Choma, alias Jamalii, Alloyscious Gonzaga Mandago, Isaack Wilfred Kasanga, Taherali Sujjauddin Taherali and Mohamed Seif Kabula. They are represented by four Dar es Salaam advocates — Mr Richard Rweyongeza, Michael Ngalo, Hudson Ndusyepo and Martin Rwehumbiza.

The accused persons were not allowed to enter plea to the charges before Principal Resident Magistrate Huruma Shaidi because they have been charged under the Economic and Organised Crime Control Act.

They were remanded until July 26, when the case will be mentioned, as investigations, according to the prosecution led by Principal State Attorney Pius Shilla, Senior State Attorney Shadrack Kimaro and an officer from Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), Leonard Swai, were incomplete.

In the case, Mohamed Mustafa Yusufali is facing a total of 196 counts alone, while the remaining accused persons are facing three counts each. They are alleged to have committed the offences at different times between 1995 and 2016 in the city.

The prosecution told the court that the accused persons forged several certificates of incorporation for about 17 different companies, with 15 among them for Yusufali alone, showing that such companies are limited companies legally incorporated in Tanzania, while it was untrue.

The prosecution alleged that between January 2008 and January 2016 in Dar es Salaam, being the director responsible for the management of affairs of his company, Farm Plant Limited, with a view to fraudulently evade tax, Yusufali submitted false return to the Commissioner of Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA).

As a result, according to the prosecution, Yusufali evaded Value Added Tax (VAT) amounting to 15,645,944,361/-.

It is alleged further that within the same period in the city, by reason of his wilful acts of making and submitting false returns to the TRA Commissioner General, Yusufali caused the government to suffer a pecuniary loss of 15,645,944,361/-, which ought to have been paid as VAT.

The prosecution told the court that knowingly and fraudulently, Yusufali uttered to the TRA, Kinondoni Tax Region Office, the certificates for 15 companies to show that they were limited companies registered as taxpayers.

The court heard further that on diverse period in the city, with intent to defraud, Yusufali made several tax invoices bearing different numbers and value added tax returns to show that Farm Plant Limited purchased from Blue Arrow Tanzania Limited, commodities worth billions of shillings. All the accused persons were charged with an offence of money laundering allegedly committed between March 2011 and January 2016 in Dar es Salaam.

Being persons responsible with management and operations of Superior Financing Solution Limited, the accused persons allegedly concealed establishment of the true nature, source and movement of money amounting to 1,895,885,000/-.

The prosecution alleged that the accused persons advanced the said amount as loans to various persons and receiving repayments. It added that they did so while at the time of advancing and receiving such repayments they knew or ought to have known that money was proceeds of predicate offences of forgery and tax evasion.