Staff Reporter
Windhoek-One more person is accused of involvement in the criminal case in which MultiChoice was allegedly defrauded of N$2 million.
Celestino Gabriel Antonio now faces fraud charges together with former marketing manager at the television services company, Manga Nawa-Mukena, aged 37.
Like Nawa-Mukena, his co-accused, Antonio, also 37, faces charges of fraud, forgery and uttering a forged document. Antonio and Nawa-Mukena have both denied guilt when they took their preliminary pleas.
All the charges that Nawa-Mukena and Antonio face are in connection with the falsification of 80 invoices from April 1, 2013 to March 17, 2017.
Antonio, who was arrested last year in November, is accused of working in cahoots with Nawa-Mukena by falsifying invoices to the tune of N$2 million. According to the charge sheet, the two falsified 80 invoices for advertisements in Kundana (Pty) Ltd, knowing that the newspaper did not provide advertising services to MultiChoice Namibia.
“The accused did then and by means of false pretence induce Roger Gertze and/or MultiChoice, to the actual loss or prejudice of MultiChoice, to pay N$2,088,071,” according to the charge sheet.
The prosecution further alleges that Nawa-Mukena and her co-accused presented the invoices for advertising services to the television company for payment, but provided their own bank account numbers as being those of Kundana (Pty) Ltd.
Nawa-Mukena and Antonio are out on bail of N$50,000 and N$25,000 respectively.
The case returns to court on April 27 following a postponement to await the prosecutor-general’s decision on whether to pronounce herself on the matter.