Fanie Pienaar, who co-owned the Spy Shop and the Private Bureau of Investigations, and his team were appointed by the Road Fund Administration (RFA) to do a comprehensive audit of the Roads Authority's books in March 2003.

The then Chief Executive Officer of the RA, Justin Runji, locked the auditors in the parastatal's boardroom to prevent them from inspecting the books.

The investigation was later halted after former President Sam Nujoma personally intervened by orally reprimanding then Minister of Finance Nangolo Mbumba.

This was followed by a letter from the then head of state, ordering Mbumba to discontinue the audit of the Roads Authority's books.

The investigation was approved by both Mbumba and former Works Minister Moses Amweelo.

Pienaar and his team were paid a cancellation fee of around N$600 000 - they were supposed to earn N$1,5 million for their 12-week contract - and the RA justified the action on the basis that "a former Koevoet had been allowed to investigate Swapo members".

Pienaar confirmed to The Namibian that he had filed a civil claim and a criminal case - that of being held hostage - against Runji and the RA.

So far, nothing has happened on the criminal case that was filed with the Serious Crime Unit at the Windhoek Police Station but his lawyers were in contact with the RA regarding the civil case, he said.

Pienaar said he was not able to quantify the damages but would be able to give more detail with time.

He said Runji locked them into the boardroom from 08h00 to around 12h45 and did not even allow them to go to the toilet.

Runji defended the lock-up, saying the RFA had no right to conduct the "forensic audit", a thorough probe of the authority's financial status.

The RFA collects fuel levies and other road charges and passes more than 80 per cent on to the RA to maintain or build new roads.

Runji, who has since been fired, argued that the auditors were trespassing.

The RFA wanted the audit to inspect Roads Authority spending patterns, and to determine whether it was correctly using the money it received.

There were also fears that the RA might have been inflating contracts worth millions of dollars.

Nujoma subsequently appointed a commission of inquiry to take a comprehensive look at allegations of malpractice and illegality at both institutions.

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