The Nationalist, Dar es Salaam, 27 July 1965

Two years for Travel Service boss

Mkaanga jailed for four years plus 24 strokes

NATHANIEL JAMES MKAANGA (29), former Assistant Secretary with the Ministry of External Affairs, was yesterday sentenced to four years' imprisonment and 24 strokes, after a Dar es Salaam Senior Resident Magistrate had found him guilty of theft and corrupt transaction with an agent.

The proprietor of Takim Travel Services, Mr. Akber Rashid Nathani (50), who had been jointly charged with Mkaanga, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for obtaining advantage without consideration.

It had been alleged by the prosecution that on December 8 last year Mkaanga stole Shs. 3,000/- which was to have been given as outfit allowances to three cooks who were to go to Moscow to work in the Tanzanian Embassy there.

It had also been alleged that on November 18 Nathani corruptly gave Mkaanga Shs. 200/- for having placed a travel ticket order and that on February 1 he gave Mkaanga Shs. 1,300/- for a similar reason. Convicting Mkaanga, the magistrate, Mr. B.O. Nicholson, said: "Mkaanga's premature arranging of payment of outfit allowances to the three cooks, his retention of the money without any right to do so, his failure to retain the money in the Ministry on deposit or in cash where it could easily be obtained when needed, his failure to produce promptly Juma's (one of the cooks) money on January 30, his delay in producing it on February 1, his delay in producing the balance on February 1 at the request of the police, his failure to produce the entire balance on February 2, all satisfy me that I should accept the learned Director's invitation to infer not only that the accused converted the Shs. 3,000/- to his own use after receiving it, but that he entered the entire transaction with a fraudulent intent.

"I find that after obtaining the Shs. 3,000/- from the three cooks the accused stole it."

[...]

Sentencing Mkaanga, Mr. Nicholson said: "The accused is a young man with a promising career in ruin. However, he carried heavy responsibilities and a position of trust in Government and he deliberately used that position to steal money from the three cooks.

"He then turned to accepting bribery to assist him in repaying the money stolen. I sentence him to 18 months on theft and 2 years and 24 strokes on corrupt transaction with an agent."

[...]