TEGETA ESCROW ACCOUNT CASE WITHDRAWN

CORRUPTION case against former Principal Engineer with the Rural Energy Agency (REA) Theophillo John Bwakea in the controversial Tegeta Escrow Account has been withdrawn.

The Tegeta Escrow saga was among the key issues that attracted huge media attention, locally and internationally at the end of 2014 and early 2015.

The scandal involved the withdrawal of 306bn/- from an account at the Bank of Tanzania, where it was jointly opened by Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) and Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL), pending the legal wrangles over capacity charges between the parties before domestic and international courts.

In the course of the scandal, several top government officials, including the Attorney General and some ministers, resigned from their positions, with several cases filed against them. In the case at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam, the Principal Resident Magistrate, Mr Respicius Mwijage, declared that the accused was discharged.

“The accused in compliance with Section 98 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Act Cap 20 [RE 2002] is hereby discharged,” said the magistrate. Prosecuting, State Attorney Odessa Olombe, had earlier informed the court that investigation is incomplete, but prayed for the court to withdraw the charge against the accused.

The defence counsel Richard Rweyongeza had no objection in relation to the filed application. According to the charge sheet, on February 12, 2014 at Mkombozi Commercial Bank in Ilala District, Dar es Salaam, Bwakea, being a public servant, did corruptly obtain for himself an advantage of a sum of 161,700,000/- .

The amount was reportedly transferred to his account number 00410102643901 at Mkombozi Bank from James Burchard Rugemalira, the Director of VIP Engineering and Marketing and former Director of Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL).

It is alleged that the money from Mr Rugemalira was a reward for being one of the members who prepared the policy, which allows the private sector to produce and sell electricity to TANESCO. The case was among the first case to be filed in relation to the scandal for the first time in January 2015.