Jonas Estomih Nkya

C/O Gavellia Attorneys

Plot 568 Mindu Street

Upanga Area

Dar es Salaam

22 nd February 2024

The Chairman

Advocates Ethics Committee

P.O Box 2148

DAR ES SALAAM

Honorable Chairman and Members of the Ethics Committee,

RE: REPLY TO THE COMPLAINTS LODGED AGAINST ME BY BENCH MARKING

CHINA DEVELOPMENT LIMITED TO THIS HONORABLE COMMITTEE

Kindly refer to the heading above and the reply to the complaints letter dated the 30 th of
January 2024.

I am an advocate of the High Court with roll numbers 2459 and further the managing
Partner of Jonas & Associates Law Chambers. I was served via my representative law
firm Messr Gavellia Attorneys with a copy of the above-named complainant’s complaints
against me in relation to his business transactions with Messr Societe Kamil Business
and Trading Sarl and Societe Group cha Sarl, a company incorporated in the DRC and
operating there and to that effect I will provide a vivid and true account of what
transpired in the same and thus form my explanation and defense against the same.

Once again, I have seen the allegations lodged therein and whilst the same are not
new, I wish to state in a correct and prudent manner what transpired albeit briefly and
the current state of affairs of the same which inter-alia is completely different from what
has been stated in the lodged complaint. I would like to albeit briefly state the following:

1. That, I acknowledge that the said complainant had indeed entered into and SPA
agreement with the DRC based company and to my understating and according
to the contract between the parties, the buyer (herein the complainant) was
funding logistics to bring the Copper or Cargo to Tanzania en route to his port of
destination. I obtained the said copies of contract and other documents from the
complainant herein when the same contacted me to receive funds on his behalf
here and hand over the same to his people.

2. That, I was contacted by the Complainant herein on or around the 14th of

September 2022 in relation to his business transaction with the DRC Company
named herein.The Complainant herein had used my services in the past whilst
dealing with other Congolese entities thus he had my contacts.

3. That, Rebuking what the complainant is alleging in Para 3 of his complaint that
the same engaged me to make payments for the purchase of their 250 tons of
Copper Cathodes as well as for the transportation of the same is highly
erroneous albeit willfully, as stated above the same contacted me for receiving
moneys and handing the same over to parties that were here handling his goods,
the purchase of the same was concluded in DRC Congo as per their SPA long
before contacting me and the alleged transport logistics were done in the same
manner. It should be NOTED THAT the said transporters that were introduced to
me were the ones that allegedly transported the said consignment from DRC
Congo to Dar es Salaam via Zambia. It should further be noted that he is the one
that contacted me and introduced me to the DRC Company and her people such
as General Madowa, Mike Mongendu and Mr Abbas. He gave me their contacts
and asked the parties that were in Dar es Salaam to come at my office and meet
me, the purpose being to know these people and handle their financial
transactions should they need any assistance since they were Congolese and
 were transporting his Cargo. I herein attach the complainant’s email to this
effect and proving the same and marked as A1.

4. That, after the same, on the 20th of September 2022, the complainant herein sent
me an email and also called me engaging me to receive funds which were
requested by the DRC Company and his agents and people here in Dar es
Salaam. On that particular date he sent as the 1 st TT USD 29,000 and asked me
to hand over the same to his suppliers here in Dar es Salaam. For banking
purposes, I asked the parties to send me letters to this effect. An email proving
the same is hereto attached and marked as A2. The rest of the payments (TT)
were in the same manner.

Honorable Chairman and Members, It is prudent to note in my explanation and

defense herein thus:

5. That, I have never been privy to the contract between the parties to the SPA
agreement and I requested the same from the Complainant for the purposes of
satisfying myself that the funds that were being sent were indeed for such
business and or Cargo.

6. That, it is prudent to further avail to this committee that most instructions that
were for receiving funds and handing over the same to the Complainants agents
and partners here in Dar es Salaam and not otherwise.

7. That, I further wish to avail to this committee the fact that though I was not in any
way privy to the intimate details of the parties’ dealings and conversations, I once
advised the complainant here to appoint another registered agent here in
Tanzania as the people he was dealing with seemed highly incompetent but to
my surprise he relayed the information to the DRC Company and they requested
to use another advocate as they deemed me unfit to further handle their funds.
The Agent that was used by the parties herein was from Kenya as far as the
 information that was provided to me by both parties and upon the introduction of
the same to me. This was also raised by me to the complainant herein.

8. That, In relations to the allegations that I refused to meet the Complainant whilst
he was in Dar es Salaam, this is highly false and unwarranted as I met the same
at his hotel opposite Kisutu Resident Magistrates Court and we discussed the
matter for hours and it was scheduled to hold another meeting with his suppliers
whom at that particular time claimed to have shipped the cargo to Mombasa and
where in Mombasa at that particular time because he delayed to send the funds
to ship the same. I was told that the consignment was in Mombasa by the
complainant himself and not the other way around.

9. That, having received this information and whilst he was here, I advised him to
go and try to meet his suppliers and his agent in Mombasa as they claimed to
have shifted the cargo to Mombasa port but he refused. It is my firm belief that
the same was moved and the complainant herein refused to go to Mombasa and
even Congo DRC because the source of this consignment was not proper from
the point of origin hence the failure to follow up this matter in the DRC Congo for
fearing the authorities there by the Complainant.

10. After this scenario, I was called by the complainant’s new attorneys asking to
meet me (this was after seven or eight days of having our last meeting with him)
and the nature of the meeting was to discuss the said transactions. At that
particular time and to date I was not well nor in Dar es Salaam thus sent an
attorney who was conversant with the facts as we held the first meeting at the
Complainants hotel with him to talk and discuss way forward.

11. That, from that particular time I was served with several demand notices from
KKB Attorneys demanding me to pay over 1.9 million USD, moneys that were
allegedly sent to me to hand over to the DRC Company people. I replied the
same and corrected their averments especially on the amount sent and the
 purposes for which the same were sent. I herein attach the same as proof and
Mark as A3.

12. That, I state herein categorically that the services that were requested from me
by the complainant herein were to receive and facilitate to hand over funds to the
complainants’ suppliers and agents herein and all funds were handed over and I
was paid facilitation fees only by using my Bank Account facilities only. I herein
attach an acknowledging letter from the Complainants Suppliers proving
the receipt of the funds and marked as A4.

13. That, further to this I wish to state here that the said Complainant through his
advocates named herein lodged criminal complaints against me at Oysterbay
Police and the same in ongoing to date and the reverences are
OYB/IR/3677/2023.This Complaint herein is highly untenable and a blatant
abuse of processes.

14. That, the same Complainant has lodged complaints against me with the PCCB
and the same is ongoing in relation to the same matter to date.

15. That, the said Complainant through his advocates has written a complaint letter
to the Secretary General of the CCM and I being a member of the National
Executive Committee (NEC) was summoned over the same matter and the same
is still ongoing.

16. That, the said Complainant herein through the services of his advocates Messr
KKB Attorneys filed a Civil Case against me in the High Court (Dar es Salaam
District Registry) with numbers 181 before Hon Kakolaki J claiming the same and
complaining against the same. Find the attachment of the said Plaint and
marked as A5.
 17. That, further to this there is a pending Application with numbers 1303 of 2023
before after Honorable LYAKINANI D/R for mention. A copy of summons
proving the same is hereto attached as A6.

18. That, further to the said Complainant herein to wit Benchmarking China
Development Company limited was not to my knowledge the owner of the said
consignment but rather Wuhan Wuhuan Electrical Equipment Co Limited of
China and not Hong Kong. The consignment was under the said company as
Consignee.

19. That, whilst some of these actions are within his rights but I wish to convey my
dismay to the Complainant and his legal advisors of their ill and unprofessional
manner in which they are pursuing this matter, this complaint is highly
unatonable and abuse of due process. some actions taken by the same are
wholly for the purposes of defaming and smearing my name and not in any way
related to their claims. As a result of the above explanations I humbly pray that
this Honorable Committee respectfully adopts the explanations herein and finds
no Merritt in the Complainants complain.

I humbly submit.

With Regards,

………………………….

Jonas Estomih Nkya

Advocate