The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced former Financial Investigation Agency chief Baltasar Engonga to eight years in prison for embezzling public funds.
He was also fined $220,000 (about Sh28.5 million) after being found guilty of misappropriating money meant for state projects.
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According to the judgment, Engonga illegally diverted large sums of government resources for personal use, authorising undocumented transactions that resulted in huge losses to development initiatives.
The high-profile case drew significant public attention due to Engonga’s former senior role in government. The court stressed that punishing such offences is key in strengthening the fight against corruption.
Although his defence team sought a lighter sentence, citing his past service, the court ruled that the seriousness of the crime called for a stiff penalty.
Public reaction has been mixed—some lauded the ruling as a win for accountability, while others said it exposed gaps in oversight within public institutions.
Engonga had already attracted international notoriety in November last year when intimate videos of him with wives of senior officials, recorded in his office, leaked online while he was still in pre-trial detention. The scandal sparked massive debate, memes, and criticism of the country’s political elite, raising questions on ethics and abuse of office.
His conviction is regarded as one of the most notable corruption rulings in Equatorial Guinea in recent years.
