Niël Terblanché
Immanuel Mulunga, the suspended Managing Director of Namcor, along with several other individuals, is facing legal action that could cost them over N$53 million in restitution to the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor).
The state-owned entity while filing particulars of a claim at the Namibian High Court has made serious allegations of fraud during the acquisition of a military fuel storage facility in Walvis Bay.
The claim asserts that Mulunga and nine other defendants are responsible for a transaction that was concluded in breach of government control structures, resulting in significant financial losses to Namcor.
Namcor’s decision to pursue legal action comes after the company identified breaches in its governance structures and internal controls, vowing to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.
The court documents implicate several individuals in the alleged fraud case, including retired Brigadier General James Auala and businessman Peter Elindi and Malakia Elindi, who are directors within Enercon, the entity through which the purported fraudulent deal was conducted. It is worth noting that 25 percent of Enercon’s shareholding is owned by the military company, August 26 Holdings.
Furthermore, former Namcor employees have also been implicated, including Jennifer Hamukwaya, Cornelius Petrus Willemse, Olivia Grace Dunaiski, and Davis Maphosa, who held various positions within the organization.
The crux of the case revolves around the purported recommendation by Olivia Grace Dunaiski, supported by Davis Maphosa and approved by Mulunga.
According to the document, the valuation was done by a certain Mr Sheefeni and Mr Aipanda from the Engineering and Technical Department at Namcor Trading and Distribution. They valued the oil storage assets at an astonishing N$53,2 million.
Namcor argues that this valuation was a sham because the individuals responsible for it, Sheefeni and Aipanda, were not duly registered with the Engineering Council of Namibia for such valuations. Additionally, they failed to consider factors such as depreciation and the remaining useful life (RUL) of the assets, instead relying solely on the current replacement value, which was deemed inappropriate.
Namcor further contends in its claim that on July 18, 2022, Mulunga, acting on behalf of Namcor, signed the Asset Purchase Agreement between Namcor and Enercon, despite being aware that the purchase price of N$53,212,000.00 exceeded his level of authority. He allegedly failed to inform the Board of Directors (BOD) about the purchase of the assets and did not establish the ownership of the assets or whether they could be sold by Enercon to Namcor.
According to court documents, there was also a lack of compliance with the Finance and Administration Standard Operating Procedure, which mandates that the Head of Department prepare a request for the acquisition of fixed assets and submit it to the Procurement Management Unit (PMU) for recommendation and approval. No budget had been approved for the acquisition of assets of such value.
Namcor has described the entire transaction, including payment of N$35,000,000.00 by the first defendant, as a “sham and a fraud” because Enercon was allegedly unable to sell and transfer the encumbered assets to Namcor under contractual arrangements between the Ministry of Defence and Enercon.
In response to these alleged irregularities, Namcor is seeking a court order declaring the agreement null and void, while also holding the directors involved legally liable for their actions.
