12 year jail or 20m/- fine for 2 TanTrade staff

FAUSTINE KAPAMA

THE Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam on Friday convicted two senior officials with Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade), Samwel Mvingira and Judith Msuya, of four counts of abuse of their positions in transactions involving purchase of used motor vehicles.

Principal Resident Magistrate Cyprian Mkeha subsequently sentenced the two, who were Director of Research, Planning and Control and Acting Director of Finance and Administration, respectively, to either pay 20m/- each or go to jail for 12 years in default of paying the fine in question. As of yesterday, one of them, Judith Msuya, had paid the fine.

The magistrate convicted the officials of the four counts after considering the evidence of eight witnesses fielded by the prosecution, led by an officer with the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), Magela Ndimbo.

One of the witnesses, the magistrate said, was Prof. Hassa Mlawa, then Board Chairman, who had testified on how the Board had refused to endorse the idea of purchasing used vehicles, as doing so was to breach the law.

Magistrate Mkeha further observed that the witnesses had testified on the active role played by the accused persons in the procurement of the used vehicles and that the said role was not disputed by the officials in their respective defence cases.

Based on the testimony of witnesses that the purchase of reconditioned vehicles was done without competition of bidders, the magistrate remarked: “I therefore hold that the prosecution has proves the offences against the accused persons.”

In sentencing the convicts, the magistrate said that each of them would pay 5m/- or be jailed three years in every count. The magistrate elaborated that the punishment on fine would would run consecutively, while that of custodial sentence would go concurrently.

Initially, the suspects were charged jointly with former Tantrade Director General Ramadhani Hashim Khalfan. However, the latter died after the testimony of the first prosecution witness, leading to his case abating, per the requirements of the law.

During hearing of the case, the prosecution had told the court that the suspects committed the offences on diverse dates between September 2007 and July 2008 at the Head Office of Tantrade within Temeke District in the city.

Being employees of Tantrade, jointly and together and in discharge of their duties, the convicts abused their positions by purchasing two motor vehicles without competitive tendering procedures in violation of procurement regulations.