By Werner Menges

Copyright namibian

Only one of the six accused who applied for bail in the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) fraud and corruption case in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court was honest with the court during their bail hearing.

This was said by magistrate Linus Samunzala before he dismissed the bail applications of all six accused on Friday.

Samunzala commented near the end of a judgement that took four and a half hours to read that it was apparent from the evidence that the accused, with the exception of one, former Namcor manager Olivia Dunaiski, “contradicted themselves in material respects, both in their evidence in chief and during cross-examination, as well as on affidavit and submission in respect of [Leo Nandago]”.

Samunzala added: “Their evidence was riddled with material contradictions and falsehood.”

He concluded that the six accused failed to show to the court that they are good candidates for bail.

Although it was not shown to the court that they are likely to flee or interfere with state witnesses or the investigation of their case if released on bail, “this court is of the considered view that it is not in the public interest or interest of the administration of justice that the applicants should be granted bail”, the magistrate concluded.

The six accused who applied for bail are former Namcor managing director Imms Mulunga, former senior Namcor employees Jennifer Hamukwaya and Olivia Dunaiski, businessmen Peter and Malakia Elindi, and Leo Nandago.

They are accused of defrauding Namcor and committing corruption through the purchase of filling station assets by a Namcor subsidiary, Namcor Petroleum Trading and Distribution (Namcor Trading), from a fuel company, Enercon Namibia, in July 2022, and through the flouting of credit limits that Enercon and another fuel firm, Erongo Petroleum, had with Namcor.

Nandago had a stake in Erongo Petroleum while it did business with Namcor Trading.

Samunzala noted in his judgement that Namcor Trading paid N$53.2 million to Enercon for filling station assets at nine Namibian Defence Force bases in July 2022.

After receiving the purchase price, Enercon paid N$35 million back to Namcor Trading to clear debt that it had with the state-owned company.

Samunzala commented that Enercon used Namcor Trading’s money to pay its debt with the Namcor subsidiary.

After the transaction, Namcor Trading did not get ownership or possession of the filling station assets, he also noted.

He remarked: “This means that Enercon received the money, N$53.2 million, and retained ownership of the assets in question. Even though Namcor Trading paid N$53.2 million to acquire the assets in question, they never acquired [them]. A rhetorical question can be asked, what did Namcor Trading pay N$53.2 million for, if they did not acquire the assets?”

Mulunga’s testimony that Namcor Trading acquired ownership or possession of the filling station assets “was a blatant lie”, Samunzala commented.

The Elindi brothers’ testimony that the asset purchase agreement between Enercon, of which they were shareholders and directors at the time of the transaction, and Namcor Trading had no effective date also “was a blatant lie”, Samunzala said.

He also remarked: “Therefore, the expression that Enercon sold dreams to Namcor Trading holds true, because after the sale, Enercon took the money and still had possession or ownership of the assets to this day.”

Samunzala recounted that several of the accused received payments after Namcor Trading had paid Enercon for the filling station assets.

Enercon then paid N$9.5 million to the close corporation Eco Trading of Victor Malima, who is a wanted suspect in connection with the case, and Eco Trading paid N$1 million to the close corporation Venus Technology and N$1.47 million to the close corporation Quality Meat Supplies, of which Malima is the beneficial owner, Samunzala recorded.

Quality Meat Supplies in turn paid N$960 000 to former Namcor manager Cedric Willemse’s bank account and N$500 000 to the close corporation Panduleni Farming CC of Hamukwaya’s husband, Panduleni Hamukwaya.

Eco Trading paid N$1.04 million into a bank account of Willemse’s close corporation, Parkwood Petroleum Logistics, as well, Samunzala recounted.

Enercon paid N$3.6 million to the close corporation Onyeka Clearing and Forwarding, which in turn paid N$1.5 million to Peter and N$1.5 million to Malakia.

Samunzala further recounted that Venus Technology paid N$10 000 to Dunaiski in August 2022. According to Dunaiski, that payment was for consulting work she had done for Venus Technology.

Although defence lawyers involved in the bail hearing slammed the charges against the accused as “weak, half-cooked, chaotic, pathetic and nonsense”, Samunzala found that the state established a prima facie case against the accused, meaning there is evidence on which they could be convicted.

The accused, who were arrested in July, have to make their next court appearance on 20 November.