It was a gift from a friend to cover medical bills - Gurumo
However, Gurumo denied that the received amount was 800m/- as alleged by the secretariat and maintained that the 80.8m/- that he received was from James Rugemalira but not as MD to the implicated firm rather as a friend to help tend to a relative’s medical bills in India.
“The amount was directly deposited to his bank account by Rugemalira himself and not VIP Engineering and Marketing Limited as alleged,” he claimed.
Led by his advocate Lucas Kamanija, Gurumo went on to explain that he did not request for funds from Rugemalira and to the best of his knowledge, the money was to help treat a relative suffering from cervical cancer.
“I didn’t ask him for money but he was aware of my relative’s sickness,’ he claimed.“When I got the money I thought it was meant for the patient,” Gurumo said.
Gurumo said that Rugemalira advised him to open an account at Mkombozi bank which he did. He said the decision to open the account was not meant for any other business but for his savings.
“I know Rugemalira for 10 years now, as friends we have been sharing a lot of things and help each other in various ways. He is not my business partner,” he said and told the Ethics Secretariat that he knew Rugemalira through his family doctor, Fred Limbanga, a long time friend to Rugemalira.
“To my understanding, it is not a crime to receive money from a friend,” he argued.
Gurumo maintained that he has never used his position as a public servant to gain money from any person and that he only became aware of the scandal when media publicised it.
His claims were backed by Investigation Officer from the President’s Office, Bazilio Mwanakatwe who said ; “He received 80.8m/- only…claims that he received 800m/- are false,” said Mwanakatwe.
The investigation officer also demanded for legal measures to be taken against ‘all who spread the false information that Gurumo received money from VIP Engineering and Marketing Limited.’
Meanwhile, the Ethics Secretariat Chairman, Jugde Hamis Msumi ordered for all related evidence documents be submitted to the secretariat by next week (March 13).
As of last week, the Ethics Secretariat has been questioning government officials implicated in the Tegeta Escrow Account scandal that involves the controversial and illegal withdrawal of more than 300bn/- from the Bank of Tanzania.
Those questioned so far include, Bariadi West MP, Andrew Chenge, Sengerema MP, William Ngeleja and Rugonziba Theophillo Zephrun who was the IPTL legal advisor.
The energy scandal has already seen several high ranking officials step down from office including the Energy and Minerals Minister Sospeter Muhongo and Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development Minister, Prof Anna Tibaijuka.
Before Muhongo’s resignation at least two high ranking government officials also quit their positions over the scandal they are, Former Attorney General, Fredrick Werema and Energy and Minerals Permanent Secretary Eliakim Maswi who was suspended since December last year pending investigations on his role in the matter.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
No comments :
Post a Comment