Four residents of Dar es Salaam have appeared before the Kinondoni Magistrate's Court, facing six charges related to economic sabotage, including evading customs duty and causing a 125.5 million Tanzanian shilling loss to the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA).
The additional charges include fraudulent tax evasion, diverting cargo from an approved route, submitting false documents, removing customs seals, and possessing goods that had not been cleared for customs.
The charges were read in court by government lawyer John Mwakifuna, assisted by attorneys Auni Chilamula and Emmanuel Medalakini.
The accused are identified as Athanas Msenye, Maria Said, Godfrey Chamali, and Polycap Haule.
According to Senior Magistrate Veneranda Kaseko, the court heard that on February 7, 2025, in Mikocheni, the accused made a false declaration stating that a shipment of various car parts was en route to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, they diverted the cargo to Mikocheni, Dar es Salaam, resulting in tax evasion totaling 125.2 million shillings.
"On February 7, 2025, the accused jointly made a false declaration that the shipment of car parts was headed to DR Congo but diverted it to Mikocheni, causing a loss of over 125 million shillings," Magistrate Kaseko noted in the court session.
The accused are also said to have diverted the cargo from the approved route and redirected it to Mikocheni.
On the same day at the Dar es Salaam port, the suspects allegedly made a false declaration regarding the shipment of car parts, failing to include solar equipment and lights.
"The accused deliberately omitted crucial items, including solar equipment and lights, in their declaration," Mwakifuna explained during the proceedings.
The court further heard that on February 7, 2025, in Tabata Mwananchi, the accused removed the customs seal from a vehicle container with registration number ESDU 4263732. "The seal removal was a deliberate act of evading customs control," said the prosecution.
Additionally, all the accused are charged with intentionally evading customs duty, causing a loss of 125,245,219.81 shillings to the TRA.
Chamali and Haule were found in possession of various car parts, fully aware that the goods had not been cleared for customs, contributing to the tax evasion of 125,245,219.82 shillings.
"Chamali and Haule knowingly possessed goods that had not been cleared for customs, contributing to the loss of over 125 million shillings in evaded taxes," Mwakifuna stated.
However, the suspects were not permitted to enter a plea as the court lacks the jurisdiction to hear economic sabotage cases without authorization from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
According to the prosecution, the investigation is ongoing, and the case has been adjourned until March 24, 2025.
"The investigation is still underway, and the case will resume on March 24, 2025," said Mwakifuna.