Court acquits Lukaza brothers of fraud charges in high-stakes bank case

Dar es Salaam. The Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court has on December 14, 2014, acquitted, businessman Johnson Lukaza and Mwesiga Lukaza, of a slew of financial crimes, including conspiracy to defraud, forgery, and obtaining money by false pretenses.

The case, which began in 2008, centered around the activities of Kernel Ltd, a company they founded.

The prosecution alleged that the brothers had orchestrated a complex scheme to defraud the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) out of billions of shillings.

According to the prosecution, the brothers had forged a document known as a Deed of Assignment, which purportedly assigned a debt of over Sh6 billion from a Japanese company, Marubeni Corporation, to Kernel Ltd.

It further claimed that the two used the forged document, they convinced the BOT to release the funds which they were not entitled to.

The brothers vehemently denied the allegations, claiming that the Deed of Assignment was genuine and that the funds they received were legitimate payments for services rendered.

The trial was a lengthy affair, with numerous witnesses called to testify on both sides.

The prosecution presented evidence suggesting that the Deed of Assignment was fabricated, while the defense argued that the document was authentic and that the prosecution’s witnesses were mistaken or had ulterior motives.

In the end, the court ruled in favour of the brothers, finding that the prosecution had failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The judge noted that while there were inconsistencies in the evidence, there was insufficient proof to establish that the brothers had committed the crimes they were accused of.

“The BOT could not have paid the money if there was any problem and that they had no doubt with the payment to Kernel Ltd. This evidence which was adduced by a person who was in a position to verify on the claim and authorize payment or otherwise does not lead the court into finding that the debt was fictitious as PW4 suggests,” reads the ruling.
It added: Unless there is evidence, which is not made available in court, it is unbelievable that a respected institution like the BOT can blindly and without any basis for making payment allow payment of this like huge amount of money,” reads the ruling.

The judges further stated that BOT paid the amount after having been fully satisfied of the existence of the Marubeni Corporation’s debt and that all requisite procedures in claiming for the debt were properly followed.

“Since the prosecution could not certainly prove that the paid money was not submitted to the claimant company as it acknowledges receipt, drive the court in finding that all charges levelled against the accused persons jointly and/or severally have not been proved against them,” reads the judgement.

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