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Nephew Bryan Eiseb, friend pay tribute to Namdia heist victim Francis ‘Gosha’ Eiseb

Francis ‘Gosha’ Eiseb

Hardworking, selfless and loyal.

These are the three words that keep coming up when family and friends describe slain Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) senior security officer Francis ‘Gosha’ Eiseb (57).

Eiseb was killed in the line of duty at the parastatal in Windhoek during a N$350-million diamond heist on Saturday.

He had been working at Namdia since 2019.

Eiseb’s family, colleagues and friends yesterday fondly remembered him as ‘Gosha’.

“A family man, honest and loyal, not only to his inner circle, but to his country as well,” Eiseb’s nephew, Bryan Eiseb, said yesterday.

He said Eiseb paid the ultimate price for protecting what he believed was the sovereignty of the country.

“When our natural resources are attacked and when individuals put their own interests ahead of of the country, we must never lose hope.

Even if it means we have to lay down our lives. And that’s what he did,” Bryan said.

He believes Eiseb would never allow anyone to benefit individually from the country’s resources, instead of the collective.

“. . . which is why he’s no longer with us,” he said.

Bryan described Eiseb as a family man who was committed and dedicated.

“If he decided on something, he would execute it meticulously, diligently and very reliably,” he said.

Bryan said Eiseb would not hurt a fly.

HOMETOWN, CAREER

Eiseb grew up at Keetmanshoop.

“. . . but generally we grew up on a communal farm with my grandfather. So, Gosha is actually biologically my uncle, but we grew up in one house.

“I was raised by my grandparents. That’s why he’s [also] my brother in that context,” Bryan said.

Talking about his career, he said Eiseb became a police officer after school, but then started working for Salini Impregilo, which built the Neckartal Dam 40km west of Keetmanshoop.

“He worked for LLD Diamonds Namibia and then ended up with Namdia as a senior protection officer.”
Bryan reminisced about their last conversation after Christmas Day.

“You know, Gosha liked to sing, and he used to sing bass and I shared with him a video clip. He was saying he was going to try and emulate this person,” he said.

Bryan and Eiseb worked at Namdia together when Bryan served as the company’s board chairperson from December 2019 to March 2024.

“When I joined Namdia in 2019, he came to my house and he told me ‘look, I know you are now at the helm of this institution, but you must just know that I’m your older brother and you must always listen to me when I give you advice’,” Bryan recalled.

‘MY DIAMOND’

Eiseb’s best friend and former colleague, Hannes McKay, yesterday said the news of his death felt like a diamond has been shattered.

“A diamond is the hardest material in the world. And some diamonds can cut diamonds. Diamonds do not break with pure pressure, they break with sudden impact,” he said.

“It was like a sudden impact, it shattered the diamond into a million pieces. That’s how I took it and you will not be able to put it together again.”

McKay said there will never be another Eiseb.

This ignited a friendship that would last until Eiseb’s last moment.

“The first person I called when I started working at LLD was Gosha [and I told him] come help me know the system.

“At Namdia, I started there alone as the only security person, and I had to get some people. And he is always the first call,” McKay said.

They started working together at Samicor Diamond Mining in the early 2000s.

HARDWORKING

“There will be no other Gosha ever for me,” he said.

McKay and Eiseb grew up together at Keetmanshoop, but were not close friends until they started working together.

“But when you start knowing someone, you need some people you understand in the projects where you need advice, where you need loyalty, commitment and honesty,” he said.

Eiseb’s former boss at LLD Diamonds, Kombadayedu Kapwanga, yesterday said he last saw Eiseb on the day of his death.

Eiseb worked at this company for about seven years, he said.

“Even that same day when he died, he was just in the car passing me and then he just came to me to say ‘hello KK’, and then we went to his house,” Kapwanga recalled.

He said Eiseb was a hard-working colleague.

“He was selfless. He was friendly to everybody. Yes, he was a dedicated colleague,” he said.

Earlier this week, Eiseb’s former colleague, Kennedy Hamutenya, said the senior security executive was a hard-working and committed employee who would perform above and beyond the call of duty.

“He’d even volunteer to drive clients to and from the airport to ensure their safety,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Hamutenya described Eiseb as kind and cordial to all his colleagues, always treating them with respect.

“He was a good man. He was a gentleman,” Hamutenya said.

A memorial service in Eiseb’s honour will be held at Hochlandpark tonight.

Eiseb is survived by his wife and seven children.

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