Iuze Mukube
Former Namcor managing director Immanuel Mulunga has added a dramatic twist to the ongoing oil corruption saga.
He claims that the controversial N$53 million deal with Enercon fell within the scope of the authority that was granted to him in the employment contract.
Mulunga made this assertion yesterday during his bail hearing at the Windhoek Magistrate Court.
He stands accused of seven charges, including corruptly using office or position for gratification; fraud; corruptly accepting gratification by or giving gratification to an agent; dealing, using, holding, receiving or concealing gratification; conspiracies; money laundering and fraud.
The charges are in relation to the allegation that Mulunga, alongside eight other accused, defrauded the national oil company out of millions.
He stated that initiating the fuel supply purchase agreement with Enercon was done under the authority granted to him by Namcor’s appointment contract, and not as part of any criminal activity.
Mulunga stated the agreement fell squarely within his mandate as managing director when he approved a request for the purchase of Enercon assets and fuel supply through an internal memorandum he received from Olivia Dunaiski.
He said the purpose of that memorandum was to request approval for the Namcor Petroleum Trading and Distribution, a subsidiary of Namcor, to take over Enercon assets.
It was revealed that Enercon became a client of Namcor in 2021 while already holding a 15-year contract with the defence ministry, where Enercon had been supplying fuel and other services to the ministry since 2014. Mulunga said that, as Enercon’s amount remained unpaid due to delayed payment from the defence ministry, Enercon agreed that Namcor would take over its assets to settle the debt.
In turn, Namcor would become the ministry’s preferred fuel supplier.
Through the acquisition of these assets, Mulunga stated, Namcor would be strategically positioned for future business relations with the defence ministry. He argued that it was through an internal evaluation of Namcor that the amount of N$53 million was opted for the takeover of the assets, which he approved when the request was brought to him.
He added that the request originated from Dunaiski, supported by Davis Maposa and Cedric Willemse.
It was recommended by executive engineer Nestor Shefeni before it was ultimately approved by him.
Mulunga said that before making any investment, Namcor typically conducted a project feasibility study to determine whether the investment would be financially viable for the company.
Hence, he argued it made no sense for him to face criminal prosecution when he signed the contract in his capacity as the managing director of Namcor Petroleum Trading and Distribution.
He added that the contract benefitted both parties, where Namcor Petroleum Trading and Distribution benefitted from acquiring assets and then supplying fuel to Enercon for 10 years for an income.
Mulunga said Enercon being supplied with large volumes of oil per month would get their investment back, basically making a profit.
He argued that he never expected any personal benefit from this contract. He stated that when he signed the contract on behalf of the oil company, he never anticipated he would be prosecuted for doing so.
“I personally did not receive any gratification, nor did I gratify all these people who were mentioned. All I did was to do my job as managing director by signing a contract because there’s nobody else in Namcor who could have signed the contract but me,” he stated.
– mukubeiuze@gmail.com
Photo: Heather Erdmann