An auditor, who was tasked to investigate the dealings of the Roads Contractor Company implicating its former CEO Kelly Nghixulifwa, said his inquiry uncovered several irregularities.
Windhoek High Court Judge Christie Liebenberg yesterday postponed the fraud and corruption trial of Nghixulifwa and two of his business friends, Anna Ndoroma and Hafeni Nghinamwaami, to 19 September.
This came about after the State finished its questioning of Hans Hashagen, an auditor who was at the helm of an investigation into the affairs of RCC, requested by Otto Shikongo, the then chairman of the board of directors.
Hashagen testified Shikongo asked the firm he was a partner of at the time to investigate the dealings RCC had at the time with a company called KNC Civils, an Angolan road project the entity was involved in, the construction of the RCC head office and its involvement with Ae //Gams Engineering and Cradle Investments.
According to Hashagen, the investigation revealed several irregularities.
He further said it was also discovered that Nghixulifwa had a substantive stake in the Ae //Gams Engineering and Cradle Investment, which he failed to disclose to the board.
Furthermore, he said, it was Nghixulifwa who introduced Ae //Gams Engineering and the proposed B1 City project to RCC.
Ndoroma and Nghinamwaami were also identified as shareholders and directors of Ae //Gams Engineering, he told the court.
Although no secure funding for the project was acquired, Hashagen told the court, they discovered Nghixulifwa entered into a contract with New Era Investments for the construction of the B1 City project to the tune of N$28 million.
He also claimed Nghixulifwa misled the board that 80% of the floor space has been leased, which prompted the board to agree with the development – even though the property was registered only in the name of Ae //Gams Engineering, instead of the RCC, who gave financial commitments for the purchase of the erf and the construction work.
Furthermore, he said, in late September, the civil works for the project were completed by RCC, but Cradle Investments issued an invoice to New Era Investments for civil works done.
The auditors could, however, not find any evidence that such work was indeed done, Hashagen stated.
Nghixulifwa, Ndoroma and Nghinamwaami pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and contravening the Anti-Corruption Act when the trial, which has been besieged by delays since it is supposed to start in 2016, finally got off the ground in November last year.
At the centre of the matter is a loan of N$4.8 million that Nghixulifwa allegedly secured for Ae //Gams Engineering to purchase Erf 10485 along Independence Avenue without declaring his interest in the company.
Nghixulifwa, who resigned after the ambitious supposed construction of B1 City, opposite the Katutura hospital, went belly-up, is facing 11 charges of fraud and contravening the Anti-Corruption Act, while Ndoroma and Nghinamwaami each face four counts.
– rrouth@nepc.com.na