Justicia Shipena
Four of the eight individuals arrested this week by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on corruption charges are former employees of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor). The remaining four are private individuals.
An ACC official confirmed the arrests to the Windhoek Observer on Wednesday after three more suspects were taken into custody.
The eight suspects are accused of violating several sections of the Anti-Corruption Act, including sections 32 to 35.
These provisions relate to public officials abusing their position or giving bribes to officials.
“For those that were arrested now, four are former employees and four are private persons,” ACC spokesperson Josefina Nghituwamata said
Nghituwamata said all eight were arrested in Windhoek and are scheduled to appear in court today at 11h00. She added that more arrests are expected.
When asked whether the ACC would disclose when the former Namcor employees left the company, the official declined to provide details.
In March this year, Namcor denied reports claiming that five of its employees were forced to resign.
The company said the departures were voluntary and not related to any internal probe.
The employees were Damoline Muruko, Ilda Dos Santos, Isabel Mwazi, Mapenzie Festus, and Khonzani Tizora.
According to Namcor, they left to pursue other opportunities after years of service.
In November 2023, Namcor’s supply and logistics manager, Cornelius ‘Cedric’ Willemse, also resigned, citing personal reasons.
At the time, he was accused of misappropriating oil reserves valued at N$69 million at Namcor’s Walvis Bay oil storage facility.
The oil belonged to Validus Energy, a company owned by businessman Mathew Hamutenya.
Since the suspension of Namcor’s managing director Immanuel Mulunga in 2023, four more employees; Paula Kimm, Olivia Dunaiski, Rachel Msiska, and Jerome Davis—also resigned.
Willemse and Mulunga are known to be close associates. Willemse has previously stated he still believes Mulunga is the right person to lead Namcor.
Some of the names arrested this week appear to be linked to Namcor’s past and ongoing controversies.
ACC director-general Paulus Noa was quoted in media reports confirming the arrests of brothers Peter and Malakia Elindi, who owned Enercon, a military fuel supplier.
The company allegedly owes Namcor N$114.6 million for unpaid fuel deliveries.
One of Malakia Elindi’s wives was also arrested, though it remains unclear which one.
On Tuesday, the ACC arrested Mulunga, Jennifer Hamukwaya, Willemse, and Dunaiski, along with Hamukwaya’s husband, whose identity has not been confirmed.
In July 2024, Namcor suspended Ellis Egumbo, terminal manager at its Walvis Bay depot, following the loss of product and commercial documents at the facility
A month before that, another employee resigned as investigations into fuel theft continued.
The latest arrest is linked to a 2022 transaction involving N$53 million paid by Namcor to Enercon.
The deal was meant to give Namcor access to Enercon’s fuel supply contract and infrastructure connected to the Namibian Defence Force.
The agreement never materialised due to military objections. Enercon later cancelled the deal and failed to repay the N$53 million.
The whereabouts of the money remain unknown.
ACC officials arrested Mulunga at his home in Windhoek following what they allege were a series of corrupt dealings during his leadership at Namcor.
