December 3, 2015 By Victoria Saffa
A former bursar at the Islamic Secondary School in Kenema and an accountant working at the Kenema sub-treasury have been convicted of misappropriation of public funds by Justice Ernest Gooding at the Kenema High Court.
Millicent Blango and Samuel Ngbegba are now waiting to be sentenced on Thursday,10 December.
Bursar Blango was indicted on 19 counts of misappropriation of public funds and pleaded guilty to five of the 19 counts, but entered a plea of not guilty to 14 of the related counts. Ngbegba, an accountant, pleaded guilty to the offence of conspiracy to commit a corruption offence on which he was jointly charged with the Bursar.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) prosecutors, E. K Amara and Nigel Davies, said the accountant criminally conspired with the bursar between 2012 to 2014 and willfully aided the latter to misappropriate public funds in excess of Le142 million of unclaimed salaries of teachers in the Islamic Senior Secondary school.
In his ruling, Justice Gooding said: “The offences are grave against the convicts. Corruption is a cancer in this country. We must be robust in the fight against it for the future of our country rest on education, especially on the education of our children.”
He said the duo have been wicked to children and the country in general and that as elderly people they should have serve as role models in society, especially to the younger generation.
The two convicts were represented by Samuel Taylor Esq. and Paul Squire Esq.