By: Eba Kandovazu
The Anti-Corruption Commission Director Paulus Noa said he has received a full report detailing the events that led to the resignation of three employees of the National Assembly after they allegedly stole millions.
Noa confirmed that parliament Secretary Lydia Kandetu sent him a report on 29 April, where she confirmed that it was indeed three employees who resigned. Noa revealed that his office made no inference to indicate that Kandetu was trying to cover up the alleged corruption upon seeing the report.
However, he could not say how much was stolen, although he indicated that the three suspects stole the money individually. Asked whether or not the evidence they collected thus far is sufficient to arrest the trio, Noa said they are still busy with investigations, and the docket would be sent to the Prosecutor-General Martha Imalwa, who will decide on the charges.
Noa told The Villager he could not divulge further information regarding the report he received and that he would inform the public at a later stage on the matter.
It is reported that Kandetu froze the pensions of the suspects, who are accused of stealing over N$ 1.2 million from parliament.
The employees, who have since left their jobs, have left parliament with accusations of covering up corruption by failing to report the theft to the Anti-Corruption Commission. The theft was exposed to the public by former Windhoek Mayor Job Amupanda, who made the alleged crime public.
Noa previously confirmed that his office was not made aware of such a crime until Amupanda announced it on social media. Noa says that although Kandetu failed to report the issue to his office, she did a good job by blocking the culprits’ pension money to recover the lost money, which he says other public entities should follow.
Asked whether or not Kandetu has the mandate to do this, he said she is allowed to do so by taking administrative action. However, at the time, he had explained that it was unclear how the money was stolen, saying the report would make everything clear.
A statement previously issued by parliament said that it did not cover up corruption, nor does it condone it. The statement added that it was on a “mission to fight corruption and remains an integrity institution”.
“The allegations levelled against the institution are devoid of any truth and only seek to mislead the public,” the statement read.
Parliament also said it would recover the money from the culprits’ leave pay-outs. Although parliament detected financial irregularities, Noa said the term was broad. Previously, Noa had said that just because the accused persons resigned from their jobs did not mean they confirmed their guilt.
