N$2 million fraud deferred to next week

Home Crime and Courts N$2 million fraud deferred to next week

Maria Amakali

Windhoek-Windhoek resident and former marketing manager at Multi-Choice Namibia Manga Nawa Mukena is expected to take the stand and plea to the charges of fraud in Windhoek magistrate’s court when her trial begins next week.
Making a brief appearance in court on Tuesday before magistrates Celma Amadhila, Mukena was informed her matter could not proceed as scheduled as the state was not ready. She was expected to take the stand and plea to the charges of charges of fraud, forgery and uttering a forged instrument, all in connection to the misappropriated N$2 million.

During the court proceedings, Mukena’s defence attorney Advocate Orben Sibeya requested that the court amends his client’s bail conditions.

Mukena was released on bail of N$50 000 during her first appearance on three conditions only. “The bail condition regarding to the reporting should be removed,” pleaded Sibeya. The accused was supposed report herself at the Windhoek police station twice every Monday and Wednesday, a condition that the court scraped upon request from the defence team. The court upheld the other two bail conditions imposed against Mukena.

Mukena is accused of having defrauded her former employer between the period of April 01, 2013 and March 17, 2017, by enticing him/her by presenting falsified 80 invoices for advertising services that were never rendered. It is alleged Mukena presented those invoice with her own banking details, indicating that services were rendered by Kundana (PTY) Ltd.

The prosecution alleges Mukena over a period of three years managed to pocket an amount of N$2 088 071 at the expense of Multi-Choice Namibia and one Roger Gertze. All this she did while employed as marketing manager at Multi-Choice.

Magistrate Amadhila remanded the matter to September 19 for plea.