Windhoek
While a senior police officer is on bail after misleading police chief Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga over the recruitment of a civilian, New Era has learned that a group of generals also face imminent investigations by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over allegations of corruption, nepotism and fraud.
A letter was forwarded to the ACC to investigate three police generals on allegations of stealing money and corruptly promoting lovers and wives, as well as siblings. Their names did not appear in the affidavits in New Era’s possession.
The revelation comes after Police Commissioner Abed Kashihakumwa was arrested yesterday and released on bail of N$5 000. He is due to appear in court again on August 25 to answer charges of corruptly using his office for gratification in the appointment of a certain Sakaria Ashipala.
Following both internal police and ACC investigations it was found that Kashihakumwa, who is the head of human resources in the police, effected the appointment of Ashipala, his brother-in-law, in 2014 to the position of administrative assistant.
Ashipala had previously got involved in some mischief on the grounds of which he was convicted for theft and subsequently discharged from the police in 2010. However, investigations revealed that Ashipala’s fingerprints were never obtained. Thus his criminal record at the Namibian Police Criminal Record Centre reflected ‘no record’.
He then submitted a clean certificate of conduct and left blank the section on the employment form dealing with previous criminal records. It is alleged that a number of staff members at different levels colluded in facilitating Ashipala’s re-employment by changing the assessment scores and internal documents so that he could meet the criteria.
A letter of recommendation was subsequently prepared for submission by Kashihakumwa, but it has since emerged that Kashihakumwa had knowledge of Ashipala’s previous conviction. His recommendation subsequently bypassed the next level of authorisation of the general responsible for administration and was forwarded to Ndeutala Angolo, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Safety and Security.
According to affidavits from the Office of the Prosecutor General, Kashihakumwa committed fraud in that he lied to Ndeitunga and Angolo when he wrote that 11 applicants had been shortlisted, that the minimum threshold of 20 points in Grade 10, as well as knowledge of computers was used as key criteria.
It was found that 12 persons, excluding Ashipala and five other applicants, had initially been shortlisted for interviews, while a threshold of 37 points at Grade 10 was used. Also, a ‘D’ pass in English at Grade 10 was required. Ashipala it appears was added to the shortlist without undergoing due process and apparently did not meet the basic requirements for the post.
The arrested officers include Chief Inspector Nikanor Ashipala Tweumuna, a recruitment officer and Anna Maria Klaudia Angula, also a recruitment officer – who along with Kashihakumwa, jointly and separately face charges ranging from corruptly using their office, submitting false documents, fraud and attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice. They have all since been released on bail.