Inside Sh117m fraud: How ex-Tanzania People’s Defence Forces officer exploited CDF Mabeyo’s name

The court heard that Sahani repeatedly claimed to have a close relationship with General Mabeyo and that the CDF was interested in assisting young people from his church choir in Kawe, Dar es Salaam, to join the military.

General Mabeyo retired in June 2022 and currently serves as chairman of the board of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA). He was succeeded by General Jacob Mkunda.

Sahani, who admitted in court to receiving the Sh117 million, said he was collecting the funds on behalf of Major James Makori at TPDF headquarters, alleging that the directive had come via a TPDF administrative officer, Captain Mwakilama.

He presented bank statements in an attempt to prove that the money had been transferred to Major Makori, but the court rejected them as inadmissible. He also tried to disown an earlier confession, entered as prosecution exhibit PE1, claiming it had been made under duress.

Nonetheless, the military court found him guilty on five of 13 counts, specifically counts 1, 2, 6, 10 and 13, and sentenced him to four years’ imprisonment. He was acquitted of the remaining eight counts.

Unhappy with the verdict, Sahani appealed to the Court Martial Appeal Court. A three-judge panel comprising Justices Awamu Mbagwa, Hamidu Mwanga and Arnold Kirekiano heard the appeal on July 14, 2025.

In a ruling delivered on July 18 and published online on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, the court upheld both the conviction and the sentence.

Prosecution’s case

Military prosecutors told the court that Sahani collected Sh117 million from various individuals between January 1 and December 31, 2022, while based at Mgulani Barracks. He assured them he could secure TPDF jobs for their relatives, claims the court found to be entirely false and in violation of military rules.

TPDF officers who testified said Sahani had claimed to be closely linked to General Mabeyo and used this to gain their trust. To maintain the ruse, he set up a WhatsApp group titled “Nafasi za Kwaya Kawe” (Kawe Choir Opportunities), where he regularly shared supposed updates on the recruitment process.

Payments were made in cash and through mobile money transfers. But when no recruitments occurred, TPDF intelligence launched an investigation. Searches of Sahani’s home and office yielded mobile phones and a laptop used in the scheme.

Telecommunications companies confirmed the mobile transactions, and their records were admitted as evidence in court. The lead investigator, Captain Theresia Massawe, was the prosecution’s first witness. She told the court that Sahani confessed in her presence and that of a peacekeeper, a confession admitted as part of the evidence.

Appeal ruling

In his appeal, Sahani raised 15 grounds, claiming the prosecution had failed to prove its case, that the caution statement was improperly admitted, and that the search which led to key evidence was unlawful.

He further argued that the charge sheet was defective, that a “trial within a trial” should have been conducted to assess the voluntariness of his confession, and that electronic evidence had been wrongly accepted.

The appeal court rejected all 15 grounds, ruling that the prosecution had adequately proved counts 1, 2, 6 and 10 without needing to rely on the disputed confession. The court also confirmed the conviction on count 13, which relates to conduct prejudicial to military discipline.

However, citing Regulation 77 of the TPDF Code of Service Discipline, which allows for a single sentence even if multiple charges are proven, the court clarified that the four-year sentence applies solely to count 1.