Four in court over city hospital scam

FOUR people accused of defrauding the Windhoek Central Hospital appeared briefly in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Susan Mangani, Brian Collin Mootsang, Klementine Ganases and Collette Wilma Beukes were not asked to plead and the case was postponed to July 6 for further investigation. They are out on bail of N$3 000.The State alleges that the four defrauded Government of at least N$128 916.Mootsang and Ganases, who resigned from the Health Ministry during the investigation, were both arrested on November 14.Mangani, the owner of Sue’s Health and Beauty cc, was arrested six days earlier and appeared in court on the same day.The fourth accused, Beukes, was arrested two weeks ago.The Namibian revealed earlier that Mangani had received at least one Government cheque for N$28 665,19 from the Ministry of Health in January 2005 for supposedly supplying equipment for the hospital’s operating theatre in December the previous year.No operations took place during the last week of that year.When approached by The Namibian last year, Mangani denied that she was part of the scam.A network of senior staff members and clerks at the hospital allegedly diverted hospital funds into their own accounts.In other cases, private patients were allegedly asked to write cash cheques that never made it into State coffers.They are out on bail of N$3 000.The State alleges that the four defrauded Government of at least N$128 916.Mootsang and Ganases, who resigned from the Health Ministry during the investigation, were both arrested on November 14.Mangani, the owner of Sue’s Health and Beauty cc, was arrested six days earlier and appeared in court on the same day.The fourth accused, Beukes, was arrested two weeks ago.The Namibian revealed earlier that Mangani had received at least one Government cheque for N$28 665,19 from the Ministry of Health in January 2005 for supposedly supplying equipment for the hospital’s operating theatre in December the previous year.No operations took place during the last week of that year.When approached by The Namibian last year, Mangani denied that she was part of the scam.A network of senior staff members and clerks at the hospital allegedly diverted hospital funds into their own accounts.In other cases, private patients were allegedly asked to write cash cheques that never made it into State coffers.