Former nurse claims police made him ‘sacrificial lamb’

Former Onandjokwe Intermediate Hospital nurse Festus Amwaalwa, one of the accused in the N$2.2 million Sanlam fraud case, made his closing submissions in his bail application before the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Amwaalwa, who admitted to receiving N$35 000, which he described as a token of appreciation, claimed that the investigating officer in the matter, detective warrant officer Leo Amakali, had made him “the sacrificial lamb” in the case.

He said the money was received from hospital cleaner Hela Mpinge, whom he described as a close associate of another accused, Abner Mateus.

Mateus is alleged to be the kingpin behind the violent attack that claimed the life of former Ondangwa control prosecutor Justine Shiweda in October last year.

Referring to Mpinge, Amwaalwa told the court, “she had direct contact with Abner Mateus in the commission of the crime in the Sanlam case and the investigation revealed that she was building a house at Oniipa with that money, yet she has not been arrested. Where is the fairness in the justice system?”

Amwaalwa further alleged that during the investigation in December 2025, Amakali seized his cellphone while he was speaking to his sister in his vehicle at the Ondangwa Police Station parking area after he had been questioned.

“He forced me to provide my phone password and, in my presence, viewed private naked photographs of my girlfriend and mocked me,” Amwaalwa told the court.

Amwaalwa made the allegations as part of his closing submissions in support of his bail application, arguing that he had been unfairly treated during the investigation.


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