A court in Equatorial Guinea has sentenced Baltasar Engonga, the former head of the country’s Financial Investigation Agency, to eight years in prison for embezzling government funds.
Engonga was also fined $220,000 (Sh28.5 million) after being found guilty of misappropriating public resources earmarked for development projects.
According to the judgment, investigations revealed that Engonga had authorised multiple undocumented transactions that diverted substantial amounts of state funds for personal gain.
The court noted that the loss of the funds undermined critical public initiatives.
“Holding officials accountable is essential in the fight against corruption,” the court ruled, rejecting a defence plea for leniency based on Engonga’s years of public service.
The conviction has stirred debate across the country. While some citizens have hailed the ruling as a milestone in transparency, others see it as a reminder of the urgent need for stronger institutional oversight.
Engonga, once regarded as a powerful figure in financial governance, gained notoriety last November when leaked intimate videos allegedly filmed in his office surfaced online.
The scandal, involving him and the wives of senior officials, triggered a wave of memes, musical parodies and heated discussions on ethics and abuse of power among Equatorial Guinea’s political elite.
His conviction is seen as one of the most high-profile corruption rulings in recent years in the Central African nation.