By Phinias Bashaya
The Citizen Correspondent
Bukoba. Former secretary of the Buhembe secondary school toilets construction committee, Method Bagoka, 48, has been jailed for three years after being found  guilty of embezzlement of project funds.

The sentence was handed down by the Kagera Principal Resident Magistrate, Mr Wilbard Madhauri, after being satisfied by the evidence against him in a case that involved the loss of Sh4.9 million.

Earlier, public prosecutor Mathias Pastory told the court that between July 30 and December 2008, Mr Bugoka, in collaboration with the Tanzania Social Action Fund (Tasaf), embezzled the funds which were contributions from wananchi.

He alleged that the accused made ghost procurement of goods without informing the committee. This led to stagnation of the project and the prosecutor termed the theft  breach of trust.

  Pastory further told the court that an inspection revealed the loss of the funds in collaboration with other committee members during proceedings in the court, adding weight to his conviction.  Handing down the sentence, the magistrate said it would act as a warning to those intending to misuse public funds, something that has been a hindrance to continuation of many development projects.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites