Maria Amakali
Windhoek-As the battle to be freed on bail continues in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court, Walter Haseb, former Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) chief, who is implicated in the misappropriation of close to N$5 million at the Commission, is now accused of attempting to bribe an internal auditor.
Haseb, who took the stand in court on Wednesday in his formal bail application hearing before magistrate Vanessa Stanley, is accused of attempting to bribe the auditor for him to destroy evidence.
Haseb, 46, and his co-accused Ivonne Nande, 35, are in the dock since their arrest by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for funds that could not be accounted for during their lodging at the NSC offices at General Murtalla Mohammed Avenue.
Andre van Wyk, who is an internal auditor stationed in the sports ministry, informed the court that there was an attempt by Haseb and Nande to entice him with an amount of N$400,000 for him to destroy evidence in the ongoing case.
“I was approached by Nande this year in June. She informed me that they were in the process of selling a farm and she was instructed by Haseb to give me N$400,000 for my findings to disappear,” explained Van Wyk.
Van Wyk narrated that at the time he found it quite odd since his investigations did not reveal who was responsible for the misappropriation of N$4.9 million at the NSC.
Haseb however denied the allegation. “I never attempted to bride anyone. I don’t even have N$400,000 to pay him,” refuted Haseb.
The prosecution alleges that the original cheques that implicate Haseb and his co-accused Nande cannot be traced and the prosecution is only making use of duplicates that were obtained from the bank.
Haseb and Nande are accused of being co-signatories to a total of 30 cheques that were made out to different sports associations, but none of them ever received the funds.
The 30 cheques (more cheques to be traced) ranged from N$80,000 to N$100,000 and were cashed.
Van Wyk informed the court that his investigations revealed there were no supporting documents for the expenditures amounting to the missing money, nor was there any financial report tabled at the NSC since 2014.
The pair face a charge of corruptly using their positions or offices for gratification by misappropriating N$4,965,542.75 from the NSC and the sports ministry.
The two are expected to appear in court today.