Hertta-Maria Amutenja
A 75-year-old Katutura woman has taken legal action against the Namibia Post Limited (NamPost), accusing the institution of failing to protect her account from unauthorised transactions totalling more than N$10,000.
Petrina Sikeka claims that 12 fraudulent withdrawals were made from her transactional account at the Katutura branch between February and July this year.
The funds include her monthly pension of N$1,600 and an additional N$350 orphanage grant for her grandson.
Kadhila Amoomo Legal Practitioners, acting on Petrina’s behalf, sent a letter to Nampost chief executive officer Festus Hangula on Friday. The letter states that the client’s account was accessed multiple times without her consent.
“Our client holds a transactional account. A total of twelve unauthorised withdrawals were made using credit card services, without her consent or knowledge,” wrote Kadhila Amoomo.
He said the withdrawals included N$2,000 on 6 May, N$1,500 on 1 July, and N$1,000 on 2 June. The letter accuses Nampost of negligence and states that beneficiaries unknown to the pensioner were added to her account.
“This is not only a violation of trust, it is outright negligence on the part of Nampost. Beneficiaries unknown to our client were fraudulently added to her account, and persons with no legal authority were given access to her funds,” Amoomo stated.
The legal team demanded a written explanation from Nampost, reimbursement of the N$10,560, and removal of all unauthorised beneficiaries.
“If our demands are not fully met by close of business on Monday, 28 July, we hold instructions to take legal action by way of an urgent interdict application in the Honourable High Court of Namibia, without any further notice.”
They also threatened to report Nampost to the Bank of Namibia (BoN), the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), and other relevant institutions.
Community activist Shaun Gariseb, who has been assisting Petrina, wrote a separate letter to Nampost on 23 July.
He said that last month, Petrina visited the Katutura branch with a church leader and was told by staff that her account had been linked to a funeral policy covering five people she had not known.
“Ouma Petrina has never agreed to any of these things. All the representation was falsified, and it has affected her negatively. Her municipal bills have been affected and her well-being,” said Gariseb.
He asked for the names of the individuals added to the policy and those who amended the account, to help Petrina open a criminal case and file a legal claim.
Nampost had not responded to questions by the time of publication.
