The Namib Desert Diamonds board yesterday suspended CEO Alisa Amupolo, chief operations officer Uahoroka Kauta and security manager Paulinus Sheyapo over the diamond heist more than three weeks ago.

Late yesterday, the Namdia management was still in a “crisis meeting” on the way forward.

However, at around 18h15, the company dropped the bombshell, confirming what it termed temporary suspensions.

“Namib Desert Diamonds (Pty) Ltd. (Namdia)’s board of directors passed a resolution on the weekend to temporarily suspend CEO  Alisa Amupolo, chief operations officer (COO) Uahoroka Kauta and security manager Paulinus Sheyapo. 

Lelly Usiku has been appointed interim CEO to ensure business continuity, and that all mandates are delivered with excellence,” board chairperson Justus Hausiku said in the statement.

Usiku is an economist by training, and an experienced executive at Namdia.

She has acted in the role of CEO before, and has the complete confidence and support of the board, Hausiku added.

It is the first time that the board has taken such drastic steps since the incident transpired on 18 January.

Over three weeks ago, a diamond robbery involving what is suspected to be the company’s largest-ever consignment of precious stones received, resulted in two fatalities and two arrests.

Although the figure could not be independently verified, the diamonds are said to be worth more than N$350 million.

“The brazen and orchestrated robbery led to the tragic loss of life of a Namdia employee, Francis Eiseb, with two suspects in custody and one deceased. This incident has deeply affected the entire Namdia family and the country at large,” Hausiku said.

He continued, “As part of the ongoing recovery process following the robbery, Namdia is conducting a comprehensive and robust internal investigation to determine the sequence of events leading up to the crime, and prevent any future attempt to breach security.” 

Hausiku stated that the decision taken almost a month later was not an easy one.

“We assure you the decision to suspend these team members was not taken lightly. However, the investigation and recovery processes must now run their course. At this stage, we have no reason to suspect any Namdia employee, apart from the suspect already in custody. The Namdia board has decided to take this urgent precautionary step in the business’ best interests, as well as to protect the integrity of both the executives and the investigation,” he continued.

“We believe this is the right decision in the circumstances, and will prevent any questions being asked about the independence or integrity of the process once it is completed.”

“Namdia’s board is committed to good governance, and continues to act in the best interests of the business and all its stakeholders. The board has complete confidence in the interim CEO to ensure the business remains firmly on course. We also wish to take this opportunity to assure our esteemed clients and stakeholders that our commitment to transparency, integrity and operational security remains steadfast.”

The company continues to actively collaborate with the Namibian Police in their ongoing investigation, Hausiku noted.

Brazen robbery 

The diamond consignment allegedly stolen at Namdia on that fateful day was reportedly delivered to Namdia’s premises by the Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) about a week prior to the heist.

NDTC is a 50:50 joint venture between the government and De Beers Namibia Holdings.

Following the robbery, NDTC CEO Brent Eiseb did not want to provide any details. 

“For safety and security reasons, the NDTC does not provide details of rough diamond deliveries/movements. Kindly refer all incident-related queries to Namdia,” Eiseb said at the time.

On their part, police have said the exact amount of diamonds stolen in the robbery is unknown, pending an inventory by Namdia.

Sources familiar with Namdia’s modus operandi said the company was warned to tighten up its security. 

This, however, never happened. “There were several warnings last year that the security left a lot to be desired. The staff has been worried about this. The board chairman [Justus Hausiku] warned Alisa Amupolo [CEO] several times to focus on security,” said the sources, who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity.

Despite the advice to improve its security, Namdia’s offices were guarded by a single security person only identified as Herman, who was seconded by a local security company. 

During the heist, Herman was handcuffed, but somehow managed to notify people at neighbouring premises to call the police by saying, “We’re being robbed.”

Some now believe that Amupolo’s failure to heed the instruction could detonate her fall from grace.

Death

The police confirmed the execution-style killing of a Namdia protection officer during the robbery, as well as one of six perpetrators who succumbed to injuries sustained during the theft. 

Crime report

The weekend’s police crime report issued immediately after the robbery stated that the robbery and murder occurred between 17h00 and 18h00 at the Namdia head office in Klein Windhoek. The police said armed suspects broke into the Namdia premises through yet-to-be-determined means. 

The police further said the robbers held staff hostage by tying them up before stealing an undisclosed amount of diamonds.

“In one of the storerooms, the supervisor, who is a protection officer, was found dead with his hands and legs tied up and his face covered with a shopping bag, and a gunshot wound was inflicted to the head. He was identified as Francis Eiseb (57). His next of kin have been informed of his death,” the police crime report read.

Police said one of the robbery suspects was found with what appeared to be two gunshot wounds. The police identified Max Endjala as the deceased suspect who was allegedly involved in the Namdia heist. He was apparently an auditor at a local firm. 

Law-enforcement officers collected four firearms and some knives at the scene.

So far, three suspects have been connected to the robbery: Trustco internal and forensics investigation unit chief operating officer Endjala, who died during the incident; his cousin Joel Angula, a Namdia employee and former police officer; and Sam Shololo.

Both Shololo and Angula are in custody. The investigation is ongoing, with the police still appealing to members of the public who might have any information about the robbery or the suspects to pass it on to the relevant authorities.

-emumbuu@nepc.com.na