Josea ‘was the kingpin’

NAMANGOL Investment’s Nico Josea, the perceived middleman in the Social Security Commission’s investment of N$30 million with Avid Investment Corporation, was in fact the “kingpin”, SSC legal counsel Andrew Corbett told the High Court yesterday.

Concluding his interrogation of Josea, who spent the entire day in the witness box, Corbett said this inference could be drawn from the amount of money that the liquidators were seeking to claim from the main players: Josea, deceased Avid boss Lazarus Kandara and shady South African financial trader Alan Rosenberg. Corbett told the court that liquidators planned to claim N$2,8 million from Kandara’s estate, N$3 million plus interest from Rosenberg and as much as N$17 million from Josea.”He [Rosenberg] is not the kingpin, you are.You would have us believe that he [Rosenberg] is the big, bad person but it is not so,” exclaimed Corbett, to shouts of “yes” from the public gallery.But Josea was not about to take that comment lying down.He asked Acting Judge Raymond Heathcote to allow him to address the court on that score.”Don’t let Mr Rosenberg blind-eye you.He said and convinced me that the money was in the trade.He undertook to pay Avid back N$6 million,” said Josea.He referred to a statement to this effect Rosenberg had made to the Police.Added Josea: “No one will sign an acknowledgment of debt if you are not guilty.”He maintained that he did not take the money that was supposed to be invested by Rosenberg and that he could not be held liable for promises Rosenberg had made to Avid Investment Corporation.”I represented Namangol [Investments] and I still represent Namangol,” he said.Josea had received N$29,5 million of the SSC’s money from Avid Investment, which he was supposed to invest with Rosenberg.It has emerged that Josea only transferred N$20 million of this money to Rosenberg, and received N$15 million back.However, he has claimed that this was for another trade that he had made with Rosenberg and which had failed.Asked by Heathcote where he thought “everything had gone wrong” in the SSC-Avid investment, Josea replied that Kandara should never have tried to deal directly with Rosenberg.He maintained that Kandara had “gone behind his back” and tried to use threats to get the money back.”He could have assisted the liquidators and not pushed the guy [Rosenberg] to the ground,” said Josea.Josea told the court that it was never reasonable to expect that the SSC investment would have been repaid in the short period Kandara had promised, given that an investment seldom pays out in under a year.Fifty-two weeks, he maintained, was the standard period for returns on a trade.”So who told Kandara that it could be invested for shorter?” Heathcote wanted to know.Josea said he did not know, but believed Kandara must have told Avid directors that it was a short trade.”My lord, are you satisfied?” Josea asked Heathcote.”Whether I’m satisfied or not, I’m not going to tell you,” quipped Heathcote.After spending nearly a full day in the witness stand being questioned by Corbett, it was Sisa Namandje’s turn to cross-examine Josea.Namandje represents former Works Deputy Minister and Avid director Paulus Kapia.He questioned Josea on the N$250 000 Josea allegedly gave to Christophine Kandara, and from which N$40 000 was allegedly paid to Kapia.But at 16h00 he was interrupted by Josea’s lawyer, Jaco van Rooyen, who asked for an adjournment to make an arrangement with prison officials that Josea could stay on at the court until the end of the day’s proceedings.Van Rooyen explained to the court that after more than a month in custody at the Police holding cells, his client had been transferred to the Windhoek Central Prison.But according to prison rules, he had to return there by 16h30.Josea added that the Police regarded him a “security risk” at the Police cells, and that for his own safety he also preferred to stay in the prison.After a short break, Van Rooyen informed the court that the Police had been unable to negotiate for Josea to stay at the court any longer, and proceedings adjourned until today.Corbett told the court that liquidators planned to claim N$2,8 million from Kandara’s estate, N$3 million plus interest from Rosenberg and as much as N$17 million from Josea.”He [Rosenberg] is not the kingpin, you are.You would have us believe that he [Rosenberg] is the big, bad person but it is not so,” exclaimed Corbett, to shouts of “yes” from the public gallery.But Josea was not about to take that comment lying down.He asked Acting Judge Raymond Heathcote to allow him to address the court on that score.”Don’t let Mr Rosenberg blind-eye you.He said and convinced me that the money was in the trade.He undertook to pay Avid back N$6 million,” said Josea. He referred to a statement to this effect Rosenberg had made to the Police.Added Josea: “No one will sign an acknowledgment of debt if you are not guilty.”He maintained that he did not take the money that was supposed to be invested by Rosenberg and that he could not be held liable for promises Rosenberg had made to Avid Investment Corporation.”I represented Namangol [Investments] and I still represent Namangol,” he said.Josea had received N$29,5 million of the SSC’s money from Avid Investment, which he was supposed to invest with Rosenberg.It has emerged that Josea only transferred N$20 million of this money to Rosenberg, and received N$15 million back.However, he has claimed that this was for another trade that he had made with Rosenberg and which had failed.Asked by Heathcote where he thought “everything had gone wrong” in the SSC-Avid investment, Josea replied that Kandara should never have tried to deal directly with Rosenberg.He maintained that Kandara had “gone behind his back” and tried to use threats to get the money back.”He could have assisted the liquidators and not pushed the guy [Rosenberg] to the ground,” said Josea.Josea told the court that it was never reasonable to expect that the SSC investment would have been repaid in the short period Kandara had promised, given that an investment seldom pays out in under a year.Fifty-two weeks, he maintained, was the standard period for returns on a trade.”So who told Kandara that it could be invested for shorter?” Heathcote wanted to know.Josea said he did not know, but believed Kandara must have told Avid directors that it was a short trade.”My lord, are you satisfied?” Josea asked Heathcote.”Whether I’m satisfied or not, I’m not going to tell you,” quipped Heathcote.After spending nearly a full day in the witness stand being questioned by Corbett, it was Sisa Namandje’s turn to cross-examine Josea.Namandje represents former Works Deputy Minister and Avid director Paulus Kapia.He questioned Josea on the N$250 000 Josea allegedly gave to Christophine Kandara, and from which N$40 000 was allegedly paid to Kapia.But at 16h00 he was interrupted by Josea’s lawyer, Jaco van Rooyen, who asked for an adjournment to make an arrangement with prison officials that Josea could stay on at the court until the end of the day’s proceedings.Van Rooyen explained to the court that after more than a month in custody at the Police holding cells, his client had been transferred to the Windhoek Central Prison.But according to prison rules, he had to return there by 16h30.Josea added that the Police regarded him a “security risk” at the Police cells, and that for his own safety he also preferred to stay in the prison.After a short break, Van Rooyen informed the court that the Police had been unable to negotiate for Josea to stay at the court any longer, and proceedings adjourned until today.