How FCFA 14 Million Disappeared From Limbe Treasury

By Francis Tim Mbom

The Limbe Magistrate Court, October 21, began hearing a case that led to the alleged misappropriation of some FCFA 14 million from the Limbe Treasury between June to August, 2004 by the Assistant Cashier, Mrs Rachel Halman.

Halman, who during this period had been designated to assist her boss, Mrs Encaocho Ngembus nee Eyong, carry out most of the treasury’s financial transactions, was found to be unaccountable for an alleged sum of FCFA 14 million.She was arrested and detained at the Gendarmerie Legion in Buea and later released on bail.

After investigations, one Joseph Molongo Mafany, said to be a traditional doctor, was arrested in connection with the above missing millions. Mafany was charged to the Limbe Magistrate Court for false pretence punishable under section 318(1),(b) of the penal code. Mafany is said to have posed as a traditional doctor and caused Mrs Halman to deprive the state of the above said sum.

Mrs. Halman told the court October 21 that she had, sometime in June, boarded a taxicab from her Bota-Limbe residence to her place of work.
In the taxi, she met three other passengers: the driver, a lady in the front seat and a man who sat directly behind the driver.

The car moved for a few metres, he soon raised an alarm threatening to take the young man at his rear to the gendarmes. She told the court that the driver alleged that the man was carrying some very suspicious quantity of money. Halman soon became interested in the story.

At one point, the taxi stopped and they all went out and saw the money in the boot of the car. Halman told the court that she saw the money, which were real banknotes. They then boarded the taxi again.
The driver kept on insisting that he would take the man to the gendarmes. But Halman, out of compassion for the man, decided that they were going to share the money, which was about FCFA 250 million.

The driver then suggested that they should first consult as traditional doctor to determine if the money was good enough to be used.
Instead of proceeding to her place of work, Halman decided to follow the driver to Mbonjo, Down Beach, Limbe, where they met one traditional doctor.

Halman told the court that the doctor performed some incantations and finally declared the money good. But at this point, she continued, the doctor said the three of them should provide FCFA 3 million so that the money should be cleansed before it could be shared among them.

As to why the cleansing, she said the young man who had the money said he had inherited the fortune of FCFA 250 million from his employer in Malabo after his demise.
Halman told the court she was to receive FCFA 110 million from the total sum. Fired by the desire to harvest FCFA 110 million, she then went to her house and returned with FCFA 400,000 in cash as her own share of the cleansing cost.

Each of them, she said, had been asked by the doctor to provide a million. She later added FCFA 200,000. She was at this point asked to come back after a week and collect her share.
After one week, Halman told the court that she returned just to find that the doctor was no longer available.

She, instead met Joseph Molongo Mafany who told her that he was now the one in charge of cleansing the money. He said Mafany complained that the doctor had to be sent away when some problems cropped up between them.

Mafany told Halman that he needed FCFA 2 million to continue with the job. Halman accepted to provide the money. She said she gave Mafany an initial sum of FCFA 50,000. Then she later gave him another FCFA 250,000. Mafany, she said, later left for Buea and called her to say he got some one who could lend him FCFA 2 million.

She said from Buea, Mafany came back to her office in Limbe and collected the sum of FCFA 800, 000. He then promised that he was going to Bamenda to meet their ‘grand master’, Dr. Ali who was to do the final cleansing.
Halman said Mafany later called by phone and asked her to send FCFA 1 million by Express Union, which she did. Mafany, Halman continued, said the money was for the buying of cleansing powder from Nigeria.

She presented to the court a receipt from the Express Union Transfer.
Halman said Mafany called her and asked that she open two different accounts at BICEC and SGBC in her name through which her own share of the cleansed money will be sent. She said she was called up to Bamenda to come and collect the money in August.
She left for Bamenda and was received at the Guarantee Bus Stop, where she was later taken to a far off area. Here, she said Dr. Ali told her, Mafany and the driver who initially carried her on the very first day the drama started, that his spirits had demanded the sum of FCFA 10 million as cost of cleansing the money.
Dr Ali asked Halman to give FCFA 6 million while the driver gives FCFA 3 and Mafany, FCFA 1 million.

Halman said she suggested that she be given her share of FCFA 110 million so that she can deduct the FCFA 6 million from. “But Ali refused,” she said. Halman left to look for the money.
While back in Limbe, Mafany kept coming to Halman’s office. Within a space of two weeks, she told the court that Mafany came and she gave him a lump sum of FCFA 6 million. Mafany then left for Bamenda again.

While in Bamenda, Mafany called again to say that FCFA 2 million was still needed since they could not raise the required FCFA 10 million.
Halman said she, apparently from the treasury coffers, got the FCFA 2 million and sent by Express Union to Bamanda.

While waiting for Mafany to send the money to the two accounts she had been asked to open, Mafany again called asking her to send FCFA 500,000.
She said Mafany told her the money was too much and could raise some suspicion if sent as a lump sum.

She said Mafany suggested that he was going to Yaounde to procure some documents from BEAC, which will for her security, indicate that the money was some charity sent by some US-based NGOs to be given to some orphanage in Cameroon, which she was running.

She told Mafany she could not raise the money. Mafany then while already in Yaounde, suggested that she could look for FCFA 350,000, while he, Mafany, was going to complete the rest of the money.
Without refusing, she said she disclosed the matter to her husband who advised her that it was a fake deal. Halman reported to the police who gave her an arrest warrant for Mafany.

Mafany Trapped

One Saturday Halman called and told Mafany she was sending the money by Express Union. Mafany suggested that it be sent through the Ngoa Ekelle Agency. It was agreed, she said.
Armed with the arrest warrant, she then left for Yaounde.

In Yaounde she moved to the Judicial Police where she presented the warrant and got the aide of two officers. She then gave Mafany a ring indicating that Mafany should get to the Agency as she was sending the money.

She then left for the Agency with the policemen. On arrival, Mafany was yet to come. As soon as he arrived the police arrested and brought him to Limbe after having given conflicting statements of denials and half-truths.
Mafany was later taken to Buea where he is presently being held.
Halman said she lost FCFA 14 million. She is claiming FCFA 20 million from Mafany. The extra FCFA 6 million, she said, are for general damages.

The matter was adjourned to October 28 for continuation of hearing.
Barrister Sylvanus Awasume is defending Mafany, while Barrister Samson Oru is appearing for the plaintiff, Halman.

Comments

[pearl]

i think , the lady was a greedy lady .thereis no need arresting the guy .i think she should also be purnished for getting into states money without permission .she is very greedy , pity your husband .

[Asonglefac Nkemleke]

It is a pity that the economic crisis could have caused those who ought to be "servants of the state" to act this way. Mrs. Halman was certainly conscious of what she was doing. Aware that the treasury was a sure "source" from which she could "harvest" whatever sums were demanded of her, she blindly went along with fakes...people a duty-conscious "civil servant" ought to eschew. As someone has already pointed out, she was greedy and "unthinking". From the moment the startegy changed (at Mbonjo) she should have smelt the rat and taken herself out of the "deal". Remember folks, if you sow a storm, you will harvest a hurricane. If civil servants entrusted with public funds can go to any length to pilfer those funds for "unrealizable" dreams like an imaginary 110 million francs, how much more of those that preside over the destiny of the nation as a whole, people who with a nod of the head could make or unmake the destiny of every single citizen? We need a moral revolution to cleanse the Cameroonian nation and save the national pschye.
God save Cameroon!!!

[JB Samba]

Thank you Mr. Asonglefac N. You've said it all.
I wish God could come to the rescue of cameroon just today.

[nf]

Once biya and his cronies set the tone, those below them emulate their acts. Whatever happened to Etienne Nsama (former BICIC Bank manager/minister of finance), who stole from BICIC and stored bails of 10,000 frs CFA in his ceiling?, Whatever happened to Roger Melingui, who took advantage of biya's miscues with Marketing Board to rob the company of billions of cfa?, Whatever happened to the current minister of finance's girlfriend who was caught at the airport in Douala with suitcases full of cash bound for france? whatever happened to people's monies lost due to the recent post office savings embezzlement? how could biya afford a new aircraft when government workers are not being paid, and so on, and so on. Only the cases of the petit thieves are being published. What about biya and his cronies? Keep singing his praises and calling him the natural candida

[OKOLLE J.N.]

MRS.HALMAN IS ONE OF THOSE BENT TO CRIPPLE THE ECONOMY. SHE IS GREEDY AND NOT TRUSTWORTHY AND THEREFORE SHOULD NOT BE SPARED. SHE SHOULD RETURN THE 14 MILLION AND ALSO BE JAILED. MAFANY TOO, SHOULD NOT BE SPARED. HE SHOULD BE FORCED TO PROVIDE THE OTHER MEMBERS AND BE JAILED TOO. NEITHER MAFANY NOR HALMAN SHOULD WIN THIS CASE IF THE JUDGES ARE REALLY SERIOUS.

[lionel mofor]

IN CASES LIKE THIS,JUSTICE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO RUN ITS FULL CAUSE.WHAT EVER BE THE CASE,BOTH OF THEM ARE THIEVES.HALMAN TOOK GOVERNMENT MONEY WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION,THEREFORE SHE STOLE;MR MAFANY DUBED HALMAN WITHOUT PITTY,THAT IS STILL STEALING.
I THINK IT IS HIGH TIME WE START TAKING THE BULL BY THE HORNS.THEY ARE ALL THIEVES AND SHOULD BE PUNISHED.