By Faustine Kapama
SIXTEEN employees with the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) appeared before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court charged with several counts of forgery, theft, occasioning loss of over 17bn/- and money laundering.
The TPA workers were dragged into the Dar es Salaam court last Friday but were not allowed to enter a plea to the charges because they fall under the Economic and Organised Crime Control Act.
The accused are Merina Chawala, Happygod Ulomi, Steven Mtui, Titi Ugalwike, Zaituni Person, Samwel Sallu, Anna Mkondya, Leticia Massaro, Lydia Kimaro, Adinani Mohamed, Masoud Kova, Yusuph Othman, Abdallah Masoud, Marietha Kile, Juma Zaar and Zainabu Mohamed.
Others are Charles Nambore, Bonasweetbeth Kimaina, Getruda Kaninki, Valentino Sangawe, Christina Temu, Joseph Ndullu, Eva Uhokolelo, Lenfrida Magawa and Lila Kassimu.
They were arraigned before four Magistrates Huruma Shaidi, Janeth Mtega, Augustina Mbando and Vick Mwaikambo in different court chambers.
The cases were adjourned to different dates between December 23 and 30, 2019 for mention, as investigations are incomplete.
The trio of Chawala, Ulomi and Mtui are charged with occasioning loss of 5,839,435,412/-, while the case of Ugalwike, Person, Sallu and Mkondya the amount involved is 413,285,422/-.
The trial of Ulomi, Massaro, Kimaro, Adinani and Kova involve a transaction of 1,005,079,809. The charge sheets filed before the court also indicate that the case of Othuman, Masoud and Kile involves 2,154,842,930/- and the case of Zaar and Mtui consists 1,534,226,424/-, while the trial of Zainabu, Nambore and Kimaina involves 377,420,653/-.
It indicates also that the case of Zaar, Mtui, Kaniki and Sallu involves some 448,725,595/-, whereas the trial of Sangawe, Massaro, Temu, Ndullu, Uhokolelo, Magawa and Kassimu consists a sum of 5,119,839,758/-.
The prosecution, led by Senior State Attorneys Wankyo Simon and State Attorneys Faraji Nguka, Gloria Mwenda and Silivia Mikaondo told the court that the accused persons committed the offences between July, 2014 and April, 2015 at various places in the city.
It was alleged that within the same period at AMI Inland Containers Depot, PMM Inland Containers, TALL Cargo Freight Station, JEFAG Inland Containers Depot, HESU Car Freight Station, DCD Inland Containers Depot and TRH Inland Containers, the accused persons forged several documents.
Such documents, according to the prosecution, includes different receipts and cargo service invoices issued in favour of different companies, purporting that through CRDB Bank, such companies had paid the money and the documents were activated from TPA bill systems, while it was not true.
The court heard that within the same period and places in Dar es Salaam, being employees and servants of TPA, the accused persons stole a total sum of 17,192,852,003/-, the property of their employer.
It is alleged that within the same period and places in the city, by their willful acts, all the accused persons caused a pecuniary loss totaling the said 17bn/- to the TPA.
On money laundering, the prosecution charged the accused persons that between July 2014 and April 2015 in the city, engaged themselves in transaction involving the money, while knowing that the same was proceed of predicate offence of stealing.
This article was originally published on Daily News.