Furthermore, the court also decreed that the defendant will have to pay a fine of more than 250 million kwanzas to the State due to property damage, as well as a court fee of 500 thousand kwanzas.
The presiding judge who read the ruling said he understood that "the free and conscious acts of the former governor seriously harm the Angolan State".
Regarding the sentence, announced this Wednesday, Ernesto Kiteculo's defense, led by lawyer Amaral Gourgel, made it known that they will proceed with an appeal, in the coming days, as they consider it unfair and inappropriate, writes Angop.
According to the Public Ministry's indictment, the former governor of Lunda Sul was accused of the crime of embezzlement.
At issue was the misappropriation of 180 million kwanzas, in "violation of the rules for implementing the General State Budget assigned to the Government of the Province of Lunda-Sul in the period 2012-2017, when he held the position of Governor of the Province" .
According to Angop, the amount would have resulted from a payment made to the company Chimark, allegedly to purchase vehicles for the provincial government, during its mandate.
According to a statement from the Supreme Court, to which VerAngola had access, according to the prosecution, "Ernesto Kiteculo signed and approved fictitious contracts between the Government of the Province of Lunda Sul and several companies, without the involvement of the remaining members of the Government's management of Lunda Sul and without the knowledge of the representatives of the companies included in the aforementioned contracts".
The indictment also states that with the aforementioned contracts, "the defendant fraudulently awarded several public works contracts registered in the Public Investment Program (PIP), to companies that were not on the list of those that participated in the public tender carried out by his leadership that preceded him in leading the Government of Lunda Sul".
It should be noted that the records included two cases under trial.
