Monday, June 21, 2021

Former Rahco CEO granted bail after five years

Rahco pic
By Bethsheba Wambura

Dar es Salaam. Former CEO of the Tanzania Railway Resources Holding Company (Rahco), Benhardard Tito and his two colleagues, have been released on bail.


The accused have been released on June 21, 2021 after completing bail conditions set by the Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court.
On June 16, the Director of Public Prosecutions in Tanzania (DPP) withdrew a certificate of objecting bail to Tito and two other accused persons, a former lawyer for the company, Emmanuel Massawe and a representative of Rothschild (South Africa) Proprietary Limited, Kanji Mwinyijuma,
The accused were charged with conspiracy, abuse of position, and occasioning government over Sh1.2 billion loss in a transaction relating to upgrading of the railway.
They allegedly conspired to commit the offence under the PCCB act between September 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015.
Among the bail conditions, the accused are required to submit their passport to the court and are not allowed to travel outside the Dar es Salaam region without permission of the Court.
The defendants have successfully complied with the bail conditions and the court has released them on bail.
The case has been adjourned until July 14, 2021, when it will be read and five prosecution witnesses have already testified against the defendants.
For the first time, the accused were brought before the court on March 14, 2016 and the case was read, to this day the defendants have been behind bars for five years because of being blocked to get the bail.
Bail was blocked by the former DPP were denied Biswalo Mganga, at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in 2016 when the three were arrested.
 In the trial, the accused persons are alleged to have committed the offences between 2014 and 2015.
It was alleged that on February 27, 2015 at Rahco offices in Ilala District, while discharging his duties as the MD of the company, Engineer Tito intentionally abused his position by procuring Rothschild (South Africa) Proprietary Ltd.
According to prosecution the company was procured as transaction advisor for the project to upgrade the central line railway corridor in Tanzania by single-source method without prior approval of Rahco tender board, therefore violating the procurement act.

 

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