Six arraigned in 273.5m/- hospital fraud case

DODOMA: SIX public servants have been arraigned before the Singida Resident Magistrate’s Court on charges of fraud, abuse of office and money laundering in connection with procurement and construction projects at Singida Regional Referral Hospital, involving alleged losses of more than 273.5m/-.

The accused are alleged to have committed the offences during the execution of hospital projects, resulting in financial losses. The case marks another move by authorities to crack down on corruption and financial misconduct in the management of public development funds.

The accused were arraigned in three separate criminal cases filed recently, all stemming from alleged irregularities in the implementation of construction projects at the hospital.

In the first case (Criminal Case No 14688/2026), Frank Meza, an Accounts Officer and Secretary to the Construction Materials Store Management Committee at the hospital, faces charges of abuse of office, causing loss to a public authority and money laundering.

The prosecution alleges that between December 1, 2021 and July 30, 2022, Meza received construction materials worth 30.22m/- but failed to record them in the store ledger before diverting them for personal use.

In the second case (Criminal Case No 14689/2026), Deogratias Banuba, the then Medical Officer in Charge, Engineer Simwela Martin and contractor Benedicto Mabula of Luba Contractors have been jointly charged with abuse of office, causing loss to a public authority, money laundering and uttering false documents.

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According to the prosecution, Banuba unlawfully awarded a tender for the construction of the Covid-19 Containment Centre at Singida Regional Referral Hospital to Mabula between June 2021 and December 2022. The prosecution further alleges that Martin prepared an Interim Payment Certificate that resulted in an overpayment of 170.1m/- to Luba Contractors.

The third case (Criminal Case No 14691/2026) involves Banuba, Procurement Officer Emmanuel Matola and supplier Erick Mtega, who face charges of using false documents to deceive an employer, abuse of office, causing loss to a public authority and money laundering.

Prosecutors allege that between December 1, 2020 and July 30, 2021, Banuba authorised payment of 73.13m/- to Mtega for construction materials. It is further alleged that Matola and Mtega used invoices and goods received notes to falsely indicate that the materials had been delivered to the project site when, in fact, they had not.

All the accused appeared before Resident Magistrate Allu Nzowa, where they pleaded not guilty to the charges. The court denied them bail and adjourned all three cases to July 8, 2026, for preliminary hearing.