Enormous fraud at the helm of Tanzania government as plea bargain billions hidden in China

By Osoro Nyawangah, MWANZA Tanzania

Tanzania President, Samia Hassan on Tuesday January 31 revealed that much of the billions of monies that was collected by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) through plea-bargaining agreements has no trace.

Speaking in the country’s capital city, President Hassan said the government is investigating a bank account in China where unknown amount of money collected through the arrangement was hidden.

“Part of the plea-bargaining funds can be traced, but most of it is not available, if you trace you will be told that there is an account in China." President said without saying the exact figures of how much money is missing and who was the owner of the said offshore account where the money has been hidden.

In an exclusive interview with thechanzo.com, the Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Charles Kichere, that a report on the investigation his office has been doing into the money collected through the plea bargaining arrangement will be released to the public in March 2023.

“So, yes, we are carrying out this investigation. The reason why we are doing it is that is part of our mandate as the office of the CAG. And we will release the report in March 2023 together with other reports just like how we do it every year.” Kichere said.

Former president, late John Magufuli (L) being shown plea-bargaining report by former DPP, Biswalo Mganga (Courtesy)

Towards the end of year 2019, the Tanzania Parliament approved The Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No 4) Act to, among others, amend the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) to allow defendants in criminal cases to plead guilty at first hearing in return for dismissal of charges or a more lenient sentence.

The government adopted the system during the presidency of late John Magufuli, when President Hassan was Vice President and squeezed billions of shillings from businessmen who were facing serious economic crimes in plea bargain deals for the victims to be set free reduce backlog of cases in courts, prison congestion and ensure timely delivery of justice.

Using the system, the government through the office of DPP collected billions of shillings and nationalise properties which according to government ‘had been amassed through criminal means.’

At one point in February 2020, the then Director of DPP, Biswalo Mganga, said that the government had collected a total of 12.3 billion shillings ($5.2 million) from 341 defendants who decided to secure their freedom through the plea-bargaining arrangement.

Former DPP, Biswalo Mganga (L) presenting confiscated money to the then Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, Dotto James (R) - Courtesy

A total of 397.937 kilograms of gold, valued at 32.7 billion shillings ($13.9 million), was also nationalised according to Biswalo. “We confiscated the gold as it was about to be smuggled out of the country.” He told journalists.

Authorities also nationalised 24 residential houses, nine plots, 65 vehicles, two plantations, a boat, a dhow and 6,894 pieces of timber that were presented to the then Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, Dotto James who was also present at the meeting.

In April 2021 the then Minister of Justice and Constitutional affairs, Palamagamba Kabudi told Parliament that between July 2020 and March 2021 the DPP’s office had collected 35.07 billion shillings ($15 million) out of 192 cases after the accused pleaded guilty and voluntarily paid.

When she assumed presidency following the death of Magufuli in March 2021, Hassan appointed the then Minister of Finance, Philip Mpango as Vice President and Biswalo as judge of the High Court. - Africa