By Staff Reporter

Copyright web

Staff Reporter

CEDRIC Willemse, the former Executive of Supply and Logistics at the Namcor Distribution and Trading Company Ltd Pty, has said that large sums of money which he deposited into his bank accounts were made from profits generated by multiple businesses and properties he owned, and not “Namcor money” as the current narrative suggests.

Willemse is identified as one of the central figures in the state-owned petroleum entity’s fraud and corruption case, wherein the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) lead investigator said they initiated investigations after Willemse made large deposits into his bank account. Willemse, along with former Executive of Finance, Jennifer Hamukwaya, is alleged to have received up to N$2.4 million in bribes to allegedly grant fuel on credit to companies such as Erongo Petroleum CC and Enercon Namibia Pty Ltd, beyond their set credit limits. They are also linked to the fraudulent sale of fuel storage facilities to Namcor for N$53 million, which allegedly already belonged to the Ministry of Defence.

However, in his evidence-in-chief, Willemse said that he was wealthy before he started working for Namcor, and that this would explain the large amounts of money deposited into his accounts.

“The narrative out there is that when I joined Namcor I came begging and asked on my knees for a job and money to pay my bills. That’s not true, as depicted in my bank statements and business… I have been making a living since leaving BP in 2005. I’ve never taken my pension or retrenchment package and put it into a fund. I always invested it into businesses, as I have the business acumen to make money for myself. The narrative that my money is because of Namcor is not true. When I was substantially appointed, I had an executive meeting in the first month. I approached Immanuel Mulunga, the former managing director. I said to him, should I declare other incomes and properties and assets I have? When you work for the oil industry, there’s always a narrative that you get money from the company you work for. He said it is not necessary, as no one else did it. I did not do it, as Namcor is a newspaper — everything you tell them will not remain confidential,” Willemse said.

During the bail proceedings, Willemse relayed that he owned several businesses in South Africa in 2006 prior to his Namcor employment, which included a nightclub, two sports bars, three butcheries, and a bottle store. In addition to this, he added that he owned three properties in South Africa — a two-bedroom house given to his ex-wife as settlement in 2019, as well as two flats.

Willemse, however, said that he had sold most of his properties in South Africa for roughly N$12 million, and is currently still being paid off for the nightclub he sold for N$6.6 million to a relative.

He further, in court, showed bank statements from 2017 to 2022, in which millions flowed into his accounts, including N$4.8 million in 2017, N$5.2 million in 2019, and N$4.4 million in 2020.

He added that he bought three farms in Namibia, which include his one near Okahandja, Farm Okamutambo, as well as Vrederus, near Kalkrand, bought in 2010, and Farm Droëgvlakte, near Solitaire, southern Namibia, purchased via financing sourced from businesses sold in SA.

Willemse, however, said that he sold Farm Vrederus in 2024 for N$2.2 million. In addition to this, he adds that he makes an income from selling livestock meat products on the informal market as well as fish, and derives income from flats he owns in Rehoboth currently.

Immovable assets Willemse said he owns include three cars — one Jeep, a Golf GTI, as well as a pick-up bakkie vehicle seized by the ACC. Willemse said all the vehicles were bought via bank financing.