DAY ONE: Fraud trial of John Mugambi Mwamba ‘might take four weeks’

Tapped phone conversations will form part of the evidence against a former council staffer fighting fraud and misconduct charges in Townsville District Court.

John Mugambi Mwamba walks out of Townsville Courthouse with his lawyer in 2021. Photo: Jacob Miley

The trial of a former council staffer accused of defrauding a North Queensland council has started in Townsville after years of legal back-and-forth.

John Mugambi Mwamba, 55, is a Kenya national with Australian citizenship who worked his way up to the position of deputy CEO and director of finance at Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council.

Mwamba worked for the council from 2007 until his employment was terminated in 2019.

It’s alleged between 2011 and 2019 he accepted a $40,000 bribe, abused a corporate credit card, deliberately hid his involvement in a Palm Island petrol station, and was reimbursed for flights which never took place.

The trial is expected to run for four weeks and will be ‘document heavy’, with scores of emails, recorded phone conversations and witness testimony to be heard.

John Mugambi Mwamba is accused of misconduct in public office, fraud as an employee, fraud as an employee ($30,000 and $100,000) and receiving a secret commission.

One key witness is former Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council CEO Ross Norman, who will take the stand at least four times over the course of the trial, which began on Wednesday, April 8.

Crown prosecutor Andrew Walklate said the trial will kick off with a “who’s who in the zoo” explanation for the jury and expects his evidence will require two weeks in total.

Defence barrister Darin Honchin said his defence case will take a week or possibly more and asked the jury to remember the prosecution were presenting “just one side” of what was going on inside Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council between 2011 and 2019.

“This was a council that was dysfunctional,” he said.

“Prior to Mr Mwamba coming into council they were close to being put into administration. He came along and fixed all that up. He got them back to an even keel and was doing well, but then of course, like a rubber-band, when you stretch it too far it wants to go back to the way it was and he tried to stop that.”

John Mugambi Mwamba walks out of Townsville Magistrates Court. Photo: Jacob Miley

A detective sergeant gave the jury a background dive into Mwamba’s history, revealing the man had worked for the United Nations for about 10 years before he immigrated to Australia and found work with Thuringowa City Council as a senior accounts manager.

Mwamba is charged with four offences: misconduct in public office, fraud as an employee, fraud as an employee (between the value of $30,000 to $100,000) and receiving a secret commission.

The charge of misconduct in public office relates to Mwamba allegedly not declaring his interest in the Palm Island petrol station.

Originally, the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council owned the petrol station but Mwamba persuaded them to sell it.

It was then purchased by a Kenyan national and a Palm Island local, and it’s alleged Mwamba also took control of it.

Mr Walklate told the jury there is evidence Mwamba told servo employees he was a ‘silent partner’ in the business, told an employment agency he was a director, told a loan company he was a consultant for the servo and when confronted by council CEO Mr Norman, he denied all involvement with the petrol station.

The second charge, fraud as an employee, involves the alleged misuse of a corporate credit card which he is accused of using to buy: a laptop for his son, a footrest for his wife, phones for his friends, family and connections on Palm Island, express post parcels to Kenya and pay for speeding fines at the corporate rate (five times more expensive than civilian speeding fines, but without any demerit point deductions).

The jury heard the CEO at the time, Mr Norman, would sign off on the credit card’s monthly expenses but did not look into individual payments made.

The court heard that Mr Norman “trusted” Mwamba.

The third charge of fraud as an employee (between the value of $30,000 and $100,000) relates to flights Mwamba was reimbursed for but allegedly never boarded.

The fourth charge of receiving a secret commission relates to the alleged $40,000 bribe Mwamba accepted to encourage the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire to purchase Coolgaree Sports Bar and Bistro.

Originally published as DAY ONE: Fraud trial of John Mugambi Mwamba ‘might take four weeks’