Sengerema MP William Ngeleja appears before the Public Leadership Ethics Tribunal in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
IN SUMMARY
DEFENCE: MP hard-pressed to explain his share of the proceeds from the questionable sale of IPTL.
Former Energy and Minerals minister feverishly defends himself during a four-hour grilling by the Ethics Tribunal, saying the money was for development in his constituency.
The Sengerema MP was hard put to explain how he spent the money Mr Rugemalira gave him, supposedly for the development of his constituency. He spoke during an appearance before the Public Leaders Ethics Tribunal, which is investigating public leaders who were paid huge sums of money by the businessman--one of the key links in the Sh306 billion Tegeta escrow account scandal.
Other prominent figures who have appeared before the tribunal chaired by Judge (rtd) Hamis Msumi are former minister for lands Prof Anna Tibaijuka, and former Infrastructure minister and former Attorney General Andrew Chenge, who each received Sh1.6 billion from Mr Rugemalira.
State House Comptroller Shaban Gurumo will appear before the same tribunal today to answer charges of accepting Sh800 million from Mr Rugemalira through his bank account.
Mr Rugemalira was a minority shareholder in Independent Power Tanzania Limited, which Pan Africa Power (PAP) took over in questionable circumstances--leading to the suspicious withdrawal of the billions of shillings from the Central Bank, part of which is said to belong to Tanesco.
An official investigation revealed that public leaders and influential personalities in government shared the money in a scandal that triggered a Cabinet reshuffle that cost Prof Tibaijuka her job. Energy Minister Sospeter Muhongo and Attorney General Frederick Werema resigned.
A number of senior government officials who also received suspect payments in the hundreds of millions from the same benefactor have been charged in court.
Mr Ngeleja was grilled for more than four hours yesterday. The former minister for Energy and minerals admitted receiving the money from Mr Rugemalira of VIP Engineering and Marketing. But the man who was once the youngest Cabinet member was quick to point out that ity was a donation he requested for development projects in his constituency.
In another development, the director of legal affairs at the Ministry of Lands and Human Settlement Development, Mr Rugonzibwa Theophil Mujunangoma, declined to be interrogated by the secretariat lawyers citing a corruption case against him that is pending at Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court.
This is the second time the Ethics Tribunal, under the chairmanship of Judge (rtd) Hamis Msumi, is facing a stumbling block in its proceedings that started last week at Karimjee Hall. Mr Chenge, who is the Bariadi West MP, last week snubbed the tribunal citing an injunction in a case at the High Court to do with the escrow scandal.
But Judge Musumi declared that the court cases did not bar the tribunal from deliberating on the matter. Mr Chenge is expected to challenge the tribunal in the High Court before he is interrogated.
Yesterday, Mr Ngeleja was charged with contravening Section 6(j) of the Public Leadership Code of Ethics Act that bars public officials from carrying themselves in such a manner as to bring the service into ridicule or take improper advantage of their previous office after they leave office. Leaders are also not allowed to engage in matters that amount to conflict of interest.
The tribunal’s lawyer, Ms Mwanaarabu Tale, said Mr Ngeleja was at some point the deputy minister and later minister for Energy and Minerals when IPTL was implementing its 20-year contract with Tanesco. “Receiving money from Mr Rugemalira, the owner of VIP Engineering and Marketing that owned 30 percent shares in IPTL, amounted to conflict of interest,” she said.
The Sengerema MP was unable to explain how it was that he spent Sh40.4 million in his constituency after he had laid out Sh10 million at a fundraising function at a church located in Temeke in Dar es Salaam--which is not in his constituency.
There were further contradictions when Mr Ngeleja produced a receipt that showed that he had handed in his contribution on 2 July while he withdrew Sh4 million and Sh9 million from Mkombozi Bank on 12 February and 26 February respectively. Ethics Secretariat lawyer Hassan Mayunga wanted him to explain why he hang on to the money for more than five months, but Mr Ngeleja said he was simply staying true to the pledge he made during the fundraising event.
The Sengerema MP was also hard put to explain why he opted to deposit the money in his account when it was meant for his constituency while there was the Constituent Development Catalyst Fund. He told the tribunal that not all money that MPs received ought to be deposited directly in CDF. “As MPs, we are helping our people in different ways especially when we are giving contributions for matters that are not given priority in the national budget,” he said. “This is common practice.”
Secretariat Lawyer Getrude Cyriacus asked the tribunal to set aside the defence submitted by Mr Ngeleja. By receiving the money, she said, Mr Ngeleja acted contrary to the law and his argument was not convincing because allowing MPs to receive favours was illegal.
Ms Cyriacus asked the three-man bench to suggest a “vehement” punishment for the accused, saying it would set an example for other public leaders who have violated the law.
In a dramatic turn of events, the tribunal found itself in a bind when a team of lawyers led by Mr Jamhuri Johson moved to defend the Director of Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Lands and Human Settlement Development, arguing that if the ethics tribunal went ahead to grill their client while there was another case in court, the accused would have been punished twice.
The legal counsel urged the tribunal to wait until the case pending in court is heard and determined. The team further challenged the secretariat’s lawyers on the charge sheet that was read against Mr Mujunangoma, saying the amounts of money Mr Rugemalira was alleged to have been pocketed were not uniform.
“On one page you are saying our client received Sh423 million while on the next page you have indicated that he received Sh323 million,” said Mr Johnson. “You might want to make corrections before we proceed.”
Mr Mujunangoma is accused of having received Sh423.4 million through his account at Mkombozi Bank’s St Joseph branch.
No comments :
Post a Comment