Fenaka corruption case: Ex-procurement head Dheena convicted, held in detention until sentencing

Mariyam Dheena, who previously served as the Head of Procurement at Fenaka Corporation, has been convicted on corruption charges brought by the state, and the Criminal Court has ordered that she be kept in detention until her sentence is pronounced. The case concerns a payment released under a 2019 agreement entered into by Fenaka with a company called Blazen Inc. without verifying that the work had been completed. At a hearing held at the Criminal Court, the judge hearing the case ruled that, in view of the evidence submitted by the state, the offence of abuse of office was established against Dheena beyond reasonable doubt. After the offence was found established, the judge, at the state's request, ordered that Dheena be kept in detention until the verdict is pronounced. When the court made the order, Dheena cried intensely in the hearing. The basic punishment for the offence the court found established against her is a prison sentence of one year, seven months and six days. In connection with that fraud, about a year ago, Fenaka's former Managing Director Mohamed Saeed was sentenced to four years in prison. At that time, Dheena was not sentenced because of a delay caused by her admission to hospital. Even after that, she spent many days failing to appear for the trial, citing health reasons and submitting medical documents. In addition, the state has also filed charges against Dheena in a case involving the award in 2018 of the installation of CCTV cameras and video-conferencing systems at Fenaka's branches to Kairetsu Private Limited. The trial in that case is also currently underway at the Criminal Court.