Kainerugaba Msemakweli
Kainerugaba Msemakweli said this week that short of that the government should prosecute him for misleading the public.
Msemakweli said he was confident that evidence contained in documents in his possession is enough for the government to prosecute the individuals involved in the theft of Sh33 billion from BoT’s External Payment Arrears Account.“I have told all the relevant authorities - Director of Public Prosecution, Eliezer Feleshi, Director of Criminal Investigation, Robert Manumba and the head of Interpol (International Police) and Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) that everything is available to justify my allegations and there is no way I can fail on that,” he noted.
He added: “The money was withdrawn from the BoT account and paid to a well known bank account owned by Kagoda.
“Then the money was transferred to the Middle East but well known individuals brought it back after they were pinned down by a committee comprising Inspector General of Police, Attorney General and Head of PCCB,” he said.
A lawyer by profession, Msemakweli said repaying the money does not mean innocence, insisting that those involved are suspects who are supposed to be tried in court.
He argued that under the existing laws presidential amnesty cannot apply to accused persons but only to convicts; therefore if the Head of State wanted to pardon them for paying back the money in question, he would have waited for the prosecution and eventual outcome.
He said while some of the suspects have been tried, and a few of them such as Farijala Hussein and Rajab Maranda imprisoned, others have been allowed to walk free.
This is unacceptable and double standards under the rule of law since there were no special law for special people.
However, Msemakweli said he had been impressed by the way government authorities initially handled the matter. “DPP, DCI and PCCB have impressed me… made me to have trust although I can not predict the outcome,” he observed.
On September 1, Msemakweli told a press conference in Dar es Salaam that he knew by name all individuals who were at the centre of operations for Kagoda Agricultural Limited - the company that enjoyed the biggest share by a single company.
He has mentioned prominent Dar es Salaam businessman Yusuph Manji and former Member of Parliament for Igunga constituency Rostam Aziz, who resigned last July.
Tabu Omari, John Kato, Barati Goda, Gulam Abdurasul Chakaar and Bahram Abdurasul Chakaar were other persons he mentioned for involvement in the theft.
However, he added that they acted as operators and managers working under instructions from Manji and Aziz.
Msemakweli told a media gathering that statements issued by various government officials to the effect that there was no clear information on the proprietors of Kagoda were untrue.
He revealed that Barati Goda and John Kato were the ones who registered the company at the Business Registration and Licensing Agency (BRELA) but are alleged to have entered different names – Francis William and John Kyomuhendo.
Activist Msemakweli said through his company, Quality Finance Corporation Ltd, he acted as a guarantor for Kagoda during the process of opening a bank account at the CRDB Bank – Holland House in Dar es Salaam.
The withdrawal of Sh133 billion from the Central Bank occurred towards the end of 2005 and at the beginning of 2006. But the scandal was not known to the public until middle 2007.
Initially, the government through various officials including ministers consistently denied such occurrence but in due course it conceded the fact.
In the wake of the scandal, in January 2008 President Jakaya Kikwete fired the then BoT Governor, Daudi Balali, who later died in the United States.
The government then gave a directive to all those who benefited from the funds to repay the money to avoid prosecution.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
No comments:
Post a Comment