Justicia Shipena
National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) corruption and bribery accused Kornelius “Cedric” Willemse served as a middleman between Namcor and Enercon Namibia before being appointed as Namcor’s supply and logistics manager, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has told the court.
ACC chief investigator Oberty Inambao testified during Willemse’s bail application on Monday.
He said Willemse acted as a consultant to Namcor when Enercon signed a fuel supply agreement with the company in 2021.
Willemse was later appointed permanently in June 2022 as supply and logistics manager.
“From the evidence we obtained, Mr Willemse was an employee of Namcor throughout this period, whether in a consulting role or later in a permanent capacity,” Inambao said.
He told the court that communication between Willemse and Enercon intensified after the agreement was signed, leading to further talks for the purchase of Enercon’s assets. An email from Enercon dated 22 April 2022 listed nine military bases whose fuel storage facilities were earmarked for inspection.
Following this, Immanuel Mulunga, Namcor’s then managing director, approved a submission authorising senior officials to visit the sites between 11 and 19 May 2022.
The evaluation report was compiled by Namcor officials with input from Enercon representatives.
Inambao said Willemse later instructed Namcor financial analyst Sam Hasheela to prepare a discounted cash flow report, stressing that the project was “urgent” and had already been approved by the board.
This led to a submission by Namcor’s sales and marketing division requesting approval for the acquisition of Enercon’s storage facilities, including tanks, pumps, sheds, and canopies.
He also testified that Namcor executives misrepresented facts in a July 2022 submission seeking approval for the acquisition.
He referred to an internal memorandum dated 8 July 2022, addressed to Mulunga, which sought approval to acquire fuel storage facilities at nine military bases.
“By the beginning of July 2022, Enercon’s debt had already risen from zero to N$35 million. This is despite the agreement signed on 16 March with a credit limit of N$15.5 million,” Inambao said.
He added that the memorandum contained misleading claims.
“If you look at the second paragraph of the submission, it states that Namcor has made provision for this takeover in the current financial year’s budget and that no debt financing is required. That statement was misleading, because Namcor had only budgeted N$25 million for asset takeovers. This transaction exceeded that amount by at least another N$25 million.”
Inambao explained that under Namcor’s financial rules, any spending exceeding the budget by more than 20% required board approval.
“During investigations, we could not find a Board approval authorising this expenditure. We reviewed the approved budget, Namcor’s financial policies and procedures, the budget policy, and to some extent the procurement policy. All of these clearly show that Board approval was required,” he said.
He testified that several Namcor executives, including Willemse, signed the memorandum before Mulunga approved it.
Willemse faces corruption allegations linked to the fuel supply and asset purchase agreements.
The case also involves former Namcor finance executive Jennifer Hamukwaya and other former employees accused of supplying fuel to Enercon without following procedures.
The state alleges that Peter and Malakia Elindi, Mulunga, Willemse, Hamukwaya, her husband Panduleni, Olivia Dunaiski, and Lydia Elindi formed part of a syndicate that defrauded Namcor of about N$480 million.
Fugitive businessman Victor Malima, also implicated, is believed to have fled to Angola, where a warrant for his arrest has been issued. Peter’s son Austin and Connie van Wyk are also among the accused.
The bail application continues.
