ACC arrests Mulunga, three others over military fuel scandal
The arrest of former National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) managing director Imms Mulunga and several of his former colleagues is believed to be part of a broader crackdown.
Others arrested alongside Mulunga include two former Namcor executives and a fourth unnamed individual.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) spokesperson Josefina Nghituwamata confirmed the arrests in a statement yesterday, adding that more suspects may be apprehended as investigations continue.
“These arrests follow an investigation into a range of serious corruption allegations at Namcor, conducted by the commission,” she said.
The suspects face multiple charges under the Anti-Corruption Act, 2003. Further details will be disclosed when they appear in court, she said.
Nghituwamata said the ACC is investigating the matter in collaboration with the Asset Forfeiture Unit and the Commercial Crime Investigation Unit of the Namibian Police.
She did not name the suspects.
However, former Namcor supply and logistics manager Cornelius ‘Cedric’ Willemse, and former finance executive Jennifer Hamukwaya have in the past been implicated in the loss of millions at Namcor.
Sources say the ACC has tracked funds to a company related to the relative of a Namcor employee.
One suspect is said to have been investigated for money laundering in a case where N$300 000 is withdrawn per day, while another suspect includes the payment of a vehicle from a Namcor beneficiary.
THE FUEL SUPPLY DEAL
The Namibian understands that the arrests follow an investigation into fuel supply to Enercon Namibia and Erongo Petroleum, which were both liquidated in the High Court last month.
The two entities owed Namcor N$381 million, court documents say.
The Namibian in 2023 reported that the Namcor board launched an investigation into transactions of about N$300 million involving Enercon and two other companies linked to Enercon’s private owners.
Central to the Enercon saga was that Namcor executives provided the company with fuel despite it having reached its credit limit.
The previous Namcor board of directors reportedly filed charges under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act involving fuel supply and the construction of facilities for the Namibian Defence Force (NDF).
“On 8 July 2022, you approved a recommendation from Olivia Dunaiski for Namcor to take over assets of Enercon at the costs of N$53 million in circumstances you knew, or ought to have known, or negligently failed to establish that, it had not been established whether Enercon was the lawful owner of the said assets,” the board told Mulunga in 2023.
It is alleged that Enercon pretended to be selling the facilities, which it never owned, in addition to the oil supply contract.
THE DEFENCE DEAL
Enercon had a long-term agreement to supply the NDF with fuel and renovate its storage infrastructure.
The now liquidated Enercon was controlled by businessmen Victor Malima and Austin Elindi. Its previous shareholders were brothers Peter and Malakia Elindi. They have, in the meantime, denied any wrongdoing.
The fuel supply deal between Namcor and Enercon triggered Mulunga’s dismissal last year and is said to be central to the ongoing criminal investigation. According to his termination letter, Mulunga approved the N$53-million purchase of Enercon’s assets on 8 July 2022, despite concerns over Enercon’s ownership of those assets.
The recommendation allegedly came from then commercial manager Olivia Dunaiski, who now works for Erongo Petroleum – a company Namcor has since placed under liquidation for unpaid debt.
The termination letter alleges that Enercon misrepresented itself as the owner of both the oil supply contract and the infrastructure it purported to sell, but instead belonged to the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs.
It further states that an internal valuation conducted by Nestor Sheefeni and Michael Aipanda lacked credibility, noting there was no evidence of the pair being registered with the Engineering Council of Namibia.
Sheefeni is Namcor’s executive for engineering and technical services, and Aipanda is the manager of that division.
The board has accused Mulunga of authorising the N$53-million payment without conducting due diligence or informing it, with the transaction exceeding his authority.
“There was no contract between Namcor and the defence ministry, nor any lease agreement regarding the assets,” Mulunga’s termination letter states.
Although the transaction eventually collapsed, Namcor has failed to recover the funds and has been supplying fuel to military entities on high credit terms – contributing to its cash-flow crisis and technical insolvency.
Enercon Namibia and the close corporation Erongo Petroleum were liquidated last month, owing Namcor a combined amount of more than N$381 million.
Deputy judge president Shafimana Ueitele, who made the order in June, said in terms of the Close Corporations Act and the Companies Act, the Namcor subsidiary is entitled to an order for the liquidation of both companies after they failed to repay the fuel products they received.
Austin Elindi is Erongo Petroleum’s sole shareholder. He was also a director and shareholder of Enercon Namibia.
By February 2022, Erongo Petroleum and Enercon were in arrears of N$23.5 million.
The close corporation’s debt with Namcor increased to about N$215.8 million by the end of March 2023, and by November 2023 had risen to N$266.7 million.
Enercon owed Namcor about N$39 million at the end of March 2023. By the end of November 2023, Enercon’s debts to Namcor had risen to N$114.6 million.
However, in a sworn statement filed at the court, one of Enercon’s directors, Victor Malima, disputed that figure, calling it “greatly exaggerated and not accurate”.
ARRESTS
ACC officials descended on Mulunga’s residence at Klein Windhoek hours before his arrest yesterday.
National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi yesterday told The Namibian the police do not have the authority to comment on matters related to the ACC.
“For as long as it’s an anti-corruption case, they have their own investigators and spokesperson,” she said.
Shikwambi could not confirm whether the former Namcor managing director and his co-accused were being held at a police station.
“We don’t work with the ACC. We are dealing with other investigations, these are separate cases,” she said.
Namcor spokesperson Utaara Hoveka yesterday said at this stage, none of the individuals in question are employed by Namcor in any capacity.
“The company is not in a position to speculate or comment on the details of the charges or ongoing legal proceedings, as these matters are being handled by the appropriate law-enforcement authorities,” he said.
“We assure our stakeholders, partners and the public that this matter does not impact
Namcor’s current operations or business integrity,” he said.
Hoveka said the company’s leadership team remains focused on rebuilding institutional resilience.
“. . . to work closely with all stakeholders to support Namcor’s efforts to position itself for a more stable, accountable and profitable future and to drive long-term value for Namibia.”
Namcor has since paid its former finance executive, Hamukwaya N$1.6 million to leave the company in 2023.
Hamukwaya sued the state oil company in March after it refused to extend her employment contract for another five years.
The agreement was concluded in the Windhoek High Court on 9 June of the same year.
Willemse, who is regarded as Mulunga’s right-hand man, resigned from Namcor in 2023 citing personal reasons.
Two years ago, former finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi questioned why Namcor accepted a monthly repayment of N$500 000 from a military-owned fuel supplier company that received N$60 million in taxpayers’ money.
Shiimi demanded an explanation for transactions between Namcor and a military contractor called Enercon Namibia.
At the time, Enercon managing director Victor Malima said: “I would like to clarify that the investigation in question took place before my tenure as managing director of Enercon, which commenced in February 2023.
“To the best of my knowledge, all of Enercon’s dealings have been conducted in a transparent and ethical manner.
Unfortunately, we cannot divulge any specific details due to our confidentiality obligations to our stakeholders.”
Namcor on Sunday blamed Mulunga for dragging the national oil company into debt of N$800 million.
