Renthia Kaimbi
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has arrested a repeat corruption suspect and a government hydrologist for their roles in an alleged scheme that cost the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform N$387 397.
ACC interim spokesperson Marina Matundu confirmed the arrests, saying the commission views the matter as a serious breach of public trust.
She said the case involves clear allegations of fraudulent payments for goods that were never delivered.
The suspects, Liam Mbako (40), a hydrologist technician, and Godfried Uiseb (35), owner of MacGodmen Trading CC, were taken into custody on 18 November.
They appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on Thursday and were each granted N$10 000 bail. Their case was postponed to 26 January 2026.
According to the ACC, the investigation centres on a payment for a water sampling trailer that the ministry never received.
Mbako, who sat on the ministry’s procurement management committee, is accused of signing off on documents that claimed the trailer had been delivered.
His approval allegedly enabled Uiseb to receive the full payment in April 2023 for the undelivered equipment.
Matundu said the ACC believes the actions were deliberate and coordinated.
“The allegations point to a scheme in which a public official and a service provider acted together to defraud the state,” she said.
Both men face charges of corruptly accepting gratification, corruptly using a public office for gratification and conspiracy to commit fraud.
Uiseb is already implicated in another case dating back to 2023, in which he allegedly received N$404 860 for laboratory consumables that were also never supplied.
With the new case, the combined amount linked to him rises to N$792 257 in alleged fraud involving public funds.
Matundu said the ACC will continue pursuing matters involving repeat offenders.
“The commission remains committed to holding accountable anyone who abuses public resources,” she said.
