A Namibian woman was left stranded when her luxury vehicle was declared forfeited to the State after prosecutor general Martha Imalwa obtained a preservation order.
The woman, Aune Ndinelago Lazarus, received the car as a gift from her Congolese boyfriend, Daddy Bula, with whom she has two children.
Bula is facing a criminal case in Walvis Bay for fraud and theft by false pretence. It is alleged by the State that he sold two shipping containers under false pretences to Hydraulic Control Component (HCC) for N$77 000.
According to Julius Shivute, the manager of HCC, he saw an advert on Facebook that indicated that a company called Dream Team was selling containers. Upon enquiry, he was told that the price of the containers is N$38 500 each.
He then made an electronic funds transfer of N$77 000 in the name of Dream Team, and the containers were delivered to him.
However, on inspection of the containers, he realised that they were not in a good condition and requested a refund. After he failed to get a refund, he compared the serial numbers of the containers, and realised they in fact belong to Mediterranean Shipping (MSC). He contacted MSC, who told him that they rented out the containers to Bula.
According to Dream Team, they purchased the containers from Bula for an amount of N$65 000, but were only later on informed that Bula in fact stole the containers under the pretence that he wished to export timber to China. Bula was arrested on charges of fraud and theft under false pretence, and released on bail on 24 November 2019.
Lazarus explained in an affidavit that Bula is her boyfriend, who is the owner of Ascon Group. According to her, at a date she cannot recall, Bula travelled to Windhoek and returned with a black BMW, which he said he bought for their son.
Since they could not register the car in the boy’s name, it was decided that the car would be registered in her name. The PG submitted that there are reasonable grounds that the BMW was bought with the proceeds of unlawful activities in that Bula made a misrepresentation to MSC, and sold containers that did not belong to him.
On 9 May 2019, he received a payment of N$50 000 from Dream Team, and on 10 May 2019 he purchased the BWM for N$35 000, the PG contends. “Mr Bula has no known legitimate source of income to have been in a position to purchase the BMW, and Lazarus was not in a position to financially assist Bula to buy the BMW.”
For these reasons, the PG said, investigations have established that the BMW is the proceeds of unlawful activities namely fraud, alternatively theft under false pretences and money laundering.
High Court Judge Herman Oosthuizen granted the preservation order. Annerie Keulder represented the PG. The application was heard in camera.
rrouth@nepc.com.na