Resident Magistrate Sudi Fimbo convicted Chambo of all three counts and ordered him to pay 213m/- or go in jail for 13 years, while Masanja was held account on conspiracy and illegal transfer charges and fined 13m/- or jailed eight years in default of paying the fine.
Masanja escaped the jail term after managing to pay the fine, leaving behind her husband to start serving the custodial sentence. Thanks to her co-Bongo Movie stars, including Muhsein Awadh ‘Dr Cheni’, Elizabeth Michael, alias Lulu, among others, who showed solidarity in her rescue.
On the other side of the coin, it was bad news for close relatives with Chambo as they witnessed their beloved son being handcuffed and taken to prison after failing to raise any amount to mitigate the custodial sentence. One woman, suspected to be the mother of the convict, failed to hold back and subsequently broke into tears.
She was about to fight with some photo journalist who quickly rushed close to her to take a picture of the day when wailing. Delivering the judgment at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court, the trial magistrate said she was satisfied by evidence produced by seven prosecution witnesses, who sufficiently proved beyond reasonable doubt that the duo committed the offences.
Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) official, Leonard Swai, had alleged that at unknown date and place, the accused conspired to transfer ownership of a house situated at Kunduchi Salasala in Kinondoni Municipality, while knowing that the same was obtained under corrupt means.
The prosecution told the court that on April 14, 2010, the accused having been served with a notice by the Attorney General not to sell the house in question, the accused allegedly transferred its ownership to Emiliana Rwegarura.
It was further alleged that on the same date and place the accused transferred the ownership of the said house to Emiliana Rwegarura while they knew or ought to have known that the said house was the proceeds of corrupt practice for purposes of concealing its origin.
In her judgment, Magistrate Fimbo said there was no doubt that the couple had formed a common agreement to sale the house in question and that the Attorney General had served them with a notice not to transfer the property, but they ignored it.
The magistrate found Chambo guilty of money laundering alone, acquitting his wife of the offence after realizing that she was not involved in the acquisition of money suspected to have been corruptly obtained that were used in the construction of the house.
According to the magistrate, Chambo was found liable of the offence because the evidence proved that at the time he was working with National Bank of Commerce (NBC) he got some money and opened another account with Bank of Africa. Surprisingly, the magistrate noted, the huge amount of money was deposited in his bank account and used it to build the house in controversy.
“When the PCCB suspected the deal, he transferred the ownership of the house, thus proving money laundering” she concluded. During mitigation, the prosecution requested the court to severely punish the offenders because the offences committed were very serious. However, counsel for the duo, Barnabas Lugua, pleaded for lenient sentence as his clients were first offenders and have dependants.
Source Tanzania Daily News
