Following the arrests of Vodacom Tanzania's CEO and four other employees last week, the company has pled guilty and agreed to terms of the release of the arrested employees. The agreement includes a Sh229m ($2.29 million) payment to the government.
Hisham Hendi and other Vodacom Tanzania executives were charged with economic crimes by local authorities last week. They appeared in court earlier on Thursday to answer to charges of permitting the use of network services without authorisation and causing loss of revenue to the government. Huruma Shaidi, Principal Magistrate of Dar es Salaam Magistrate Court of Kisutu, said the accused intended to avoid paying taxes to the government. He also added that there were security implications of running a network without being running.
Rosalynn Mworia, Vodacom Tanzania’s Director of Corporate Affairs, disclosed that they pleaded guilty because they had a plea bargain with the prosecution. "We pleaded guilty, we had a plea bargain with the Director of Public Prosecutions and we pleaded guilty,” she said.
In a statement released by Vodacom Tanzania, the telecoms company indicated that it will be conducting an internal review into the facts underlying the charges. Vodacom Tanzania, a subsidiary of South Africa's Vodacom Group, is Tanzania's leading telecom company by a number of mobile subscribers, with about 32 per cent of the country’s 40 million mobile subscribers.
Header Image Credit: Kaizer Chiefs