Advisor to PM’offered veiled bribe’ to SSC man

A HIGHLY placed official in the Office of the Prime Minister, Matthew Gowaseb, used a late-night meeting with the Chairman of the Social Security Commission, Cabinet Secretary Frans Kapofi, to make a thinly veiled offer of a bribe or a kickback on behalf of Avid Investment Corporation, Kapofi testified in the High Court yesterday.

The Cabinet Secretary gave evidence before Acting Judge Raymond Heathcote yesterday afternoon, after his name cropped up in an affidavit by Avril Green, suspended General Manager: Finance and Administration at the SSC, which has been filed with the court. Later yesterday, Gowaseb told The Namibian that he denied the correctness of the impression that Kapofi tried to create in court that he had tried to offer a bribe to Kapofi.Gowaseb said he would ask Acting Judge Heathcote today to be given an opportunity to also give evidence in the inquiry on the SSC’s investment of N$30 million through Avid, in order to state his side of the meeting that took place between him and Kapofi.In his affidavit, Green states that he, SSC Chief Executive Officer Tuli Hiveluah, and SSC legal advisor Enid Keramen visited Kapofi’s office on June 30 to obtain a board resolution to start legal proceedings against Avid.At that stage, a little over a month had passed since Avid was supposed to return a N$30 million investment that it had received from the SSC in late January.The money, plus interest of N$1,479 million that Avid had promised to the SSC, had not been returned, though.”At the meeting Mr Kapofi informed us that he had been approached by someone to extend the maturity date of the investment and that he, Mr Kapofi, was offered money if this could be done,” Green states in the affidavit.Strictly speaking, the last section of that part of Green’s statement was not correct, Kapofi indicated to the court in his testimony.There was no mention of money – but he was told that there would be “a delivery” to him if he managed to get the deadline for the return of the SSC investment extended, he explained.He told the court that he was approached by someone in June – he could not remember the exact date – when he received a phone call from “a colleague” late at night.The person asked if he could come and see Kapofi.That was late at night, and he was already sleeping, but he told the caller that he could come over, Kapofi said.He received the person in his study, he continued.The visitor first asked him some questions, Kapofi related.The first, he said, was: “Comrade Kapofi, do you trust me?” The second, he said, was: “Can you take a bullet for me?” “And I said, ‘for a good cause I can’,” Kapofi told the court.The person proceeded to tell him that there was something going on with Avid, asking him if he could not “speak to Tuli” and ask him for a two-week extension for the repayment of the money.Kapofi said he was told further that if they could get two weeks, then they would be able to make “a delivery”.There was no money mentioned, but he took the manner of the approach to indicate that something improper was going on, Kapofi said.Kapofi had already related the events that he said took place in his study during that late-night meeting before the name of the visitor was actually revealed.It took a direct question from Acting Judge Heathcote before Kapofi told the court who the person was: “It was a work colleague of mine, Matthew Gowaseb, who works in the Office of the Prime Minister.”In response to a question from lawyer Shafimana Ueitele, who is representing former Avid board of directors chairperson Inez /Gâses in the enquiry, Kapofi elaborated that what he understood was that if Avid got an extension of the payback date for the N$30 million, “a delivery” would be made, “to me”.No such offer was made by him, according to Gowaseb.He confirmed that he approached Kapofi, and that they met at about 20h30 at Kapofi’s house on an evening in early June, he said.Gowaseb said he had been phoned by Lazarus Kandara at about 19h00 that evening, and they met thereafter.During the inquiry, Kandara, who is said to be in South Africa at the moment, has emerged as the person who was in control of Avid.Gowaseb said he and Kandara were not friends, but they moved in the same circles.He often received requests for assistance from all sorts of people, and he regarded this as another of those, he said.Having worked closely with Kapofi on the Pohamba presidential campaign last year, he did not think it strange to call Kapofi for a meeting at that time of the evening, Gowaseb said.He continued that after he had told Kapofi that someone had asked him to ask Kapofi if the SSC could not extend the deadline for the repayment of the N$30 million investment, just as the SSC had given the Agricultural Bank an extension for the repayment of a N$100 million investment, Kapofi told him: “These people are trying to use an honourable person like you in trying to get away with their lies.”Kapofi thereafter told him that the SSC had been trying for months to get its money returned by Avid, but that the company had had them running round in circles.Having heard another side to the matter, he later asked Kapofi if he would still trust him, Gowaseb said.Kapofi’s claim that he had made the “bullet” statement to him, was “total rubbish”, he added.A few days after their meeting, Gowaseb said, he heard that Kapofi had made a remark to people from the SSC that he had offered a bribe to the Cabinet Secretary.He immediately wrote to Kapofi to deny that he had done so, Gowaseb stated.Part of the letter reads: “I wish to state that I have had no intention to bribe the Secretary-to-Cabinet, considering that I was not even aware of the identities of the principals of Avid Investment; I have had no direct dealings with any of the principals of Avid Investment; I received no instructions from the principals of Avid Investment to offer a bribe to anyone; and that I have received no material/financial benefit from Avid Investment.”Perhaps naively, I thought I was helping to find a solution to a matter on which I had no sufficient background information.”He closed off the letter: “Throughout my life, I have taken a conscious decision to work hard in an honest and faithful manner and regret that my approach may have been misconstrued as bribery.”From what Kapofi told the court yesterday, he sensed the presence of “a Machiavellian exploit”, Gowaseb commented last night.Later yesterday, Gowaseb told The Namibian that he denied the correctness of the impression that Kapofi tried to create in court that he had tried to offer a bribe to Kapofi.Gowaseb said he would ask Acting Judge Heathcote today to be given an opportunity to also give evidence in the inquiry on the SSC’s investment of N$30 million through Avid, in order to state his side of the meeting that took place between him and Kapofi.In his affidavit, Green states that he, SSC Chief Executive Officer Tuli Hiveluah, and SSC legal advisor Enid Keramen visited Kapofi’s office on June 30 to obtain a board resolution to start legal proceedings against Avid.At that stage, a little over a month had passed since Avid was supposed to return a N$30 million investment that it had received from the SSC in late January.The money, plus interest of N$1,479 million that Avid had promised to the SSC, had not been returned, though.”At the meeting Mr Kapofi informed us that he had been approached by someone to extend the maturity date of the investment and that he, Mr Kapofi, was offered money if this could be done,” Green states in the affidavit.Strictly speaking, the last section of that part of Green’s statement was not correct, Kapofi indicated to the court in his testimony.There was no mention of money – but he was told that there would be “a delivery” to him if he managed to get the deadline for the return of the SSC investment extended, he explained.He told the court that he was approached by someone in June – he could not remember the exact date – when he received a phone call from “a colleague” late at night.The person asked if he could come and see Kapofi.That was late at night, and he was alrea
dy sleeping, but he told the caller that he could come over, Kapofi said.He received the person in his study, he continued.The visitor first asked him some questions, Kapofi related.The first, he said, was: “Comrade Kapofi, do you trust me?” The second, he said, was: “Can you take a bullet for me?” “And I said, ‘for a good cause I can’,” Kapofi told the court.The person proceeded to tell him that there was something going on with Avid, asking him if he could not “speak to Tuli” and ask him for a two-week extension for the repayment of the money.Kapofi said he was told further that if they could get two weeks, then they would be able to make “a delivery”.There was no money mentioned, but he took the manner of the approach to indicate that something improper was going on, Kapofi said.Kapofi had already related the events that he said took place in his study during that late-night meeting before the name of the visitor was actually revealed.It took a direct question from Acting Judge Heathcote before Kapofi told the court who the person was: “It was a work colleague of mine, Matthew Gowaseb, who works in the Office of the Prime Minister.”In response to a question from lawyer Shafimana Ueitele, who is representing former Avid board of directors chairperson Inez /Gâses in the enquiry, Kapofi elaborated that what he understood was that if Avid got an extension of the payback date for the N$30 million, “a delivery” would be made, “to me”.No such offer was made by him, according to Gowaseb.He confirmed that he approached Kapofi, and that they met at about 20h30 at Kapofi’s house on an evening in early June, he said.Gowaseb said he had been phoned by Lazarus Kandara at about 19h00 that evening, and they met thereafter. During the inquiry, Kandara, who is said to be in South Africa at the moment, has emerged as the person who was in control of Avid.Gowaseb said he and Kandara were not friends, but they moved in the same circles.He often received requests for assistance from all sorts of people, and he regarded this as another of those, he said.Having worked closely with Kapofi on the Pohamba presidential campaign last year, he did not think it strange to call Kapofi for a meeting at that time of the evening, Gowaseb said.He continued that after he had told Kapofi that someone had asked him to ask Kapofi if the SSC could not extend the deadline for the repayment of the N$30 million investment, just as the SSC had given the Agricultural Bank an extension for the repayment of a N$100 million investment, Kapofi told him: “These people are trying to use an honourable person like you in trying to get away with their lies.”Kapofi thereafter told him that the SSC had been trying for months to get its money returned by Avid, but that the company had had them running round in circles.Having heard another side to the matter, he later asked Kapofi if he would still trust him, Gowaseb said.Kapofi’s claim that he had made the “bullet” statement to him, was “total rubbish”, he added.A few days after their meeting, Gowaseb said, he heard that Kapofi had made a remark to people from the SSC that he had offered a bribe to the Cabinet Secretary.He immediately wrote to Kapofi to deny that he had done so, Gowaseb stated.Part of the letter reads: “I wish to state that I have had no intention to bribe the Secretary-to-Cabinet, considering that I was not even aware of the identities of the principals of Avid Investment; I have had no direct dealings with any of the principals of Avid Investment; I received no instructions from the principals of Avid Investment to offer a bribe to anyone; and that I have received no material/financial benefit from Avid Investment.”Perhaps naively, I thought I was helping to find a solution to a matter on which I had no sufficient background information.”He closed off the letter: “Throughout my life, I have taken a conscious decision to work hard in an honest and faithful manner and regret that my approach may have been misconstrued as bribery.”From what Kapofi told the court yesterday, he sensed the presence of “a Machiavellian exploit”, Gowaseb commented last night.