Ex-Seaflower manager demands N$500 000, apology from FIC

Former finance manager of the Seaflower Whitefish Corporation Paulus Ngalangi is demanding an apology and a payment of N$500 000 from the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) over alleged defamatory remarks made against him by a senior official five years ago.

A letter from Ngalangi’s lawyer Marvin Katuvesirauina of Chris Mayumbelo & Co accused FIC deputy director of compliance Kristian Hamutenya of making a series of defamatory remarks and false allegations against him.

Katuvesirauina called for the FIC to apologise within seven days and desist from making any future defamatory statements about Ngalangi.

The allegations were reportedly made during a meeting between the board of the National Fishing Corporation of Namibia (Fishcor) and the FIC in December 2019.

Katuvesirauina, in his letter dated 30 April 2024, claimed the allegations caused significant harm to Ngalangi and his personal life.

Katuvesirauina said Hamutenya told the meeting that N$7,7 million had flowed through Ngalangi’s personal and business accounts between 2015 and 2019, without specifying the amount of suspected proceeds of crime, thereby insinuating illicit activity.

It is further alleged that Hamutenya stated in the meeting that Ngalangi funnelled funds through his business accounts before using them in his personal accounts. This, according to the lawyer, Hamutenya implied was associated with criminal activities.

Katuvesirauina also said Hamutenya made ‘baseless’ allegations about Ngalangi’s relationship with the Fishrot corruption accused, James Hatuikulipi.

Hatuikulipi, who is in jail awaiting trial, was the chairperson of Fishcor until his resignation when the Fishrot scandal broke in November 2019.

“Hamutenya is falsely alleging a close relationship between our client (Ngalangi) and Inocencio Verde, the former general manager of operations of Seaflower Whitefish Corporation Limited, including claims of attending the same school and class, frequent world travel together and the removal of social media photos following the Fishrot corruption scandal exposé,” the lawyer wrote.

Katuvesirauina further said Hamutenya claimed that Ngalangi was involved in unethical payment practices at Fishcor without providing any context or evidence.

Hamutenya is further accused of asserting that he advised the board of Fishcor to review Ngalangi’s acting chief executive officer (CEO) employment position at Fishcor and his permanent general manager of finance position at Seaflower Whitefish, based on unfounded accusations.

“It is further our instruction that the main point in your employee’s defamatory allegations is that our client (Ngalangi) is corrupt and involved and or a person of interest in the Fishrot scandal and the board should be made aware of,” Katuvesirauina said.

He further noted that Hamutenya made the allegations to the Fishcor board while the FIC was still investigating Fishcor transactions and the source of funds in Ngalangi’s personal and business accounts.

Katuvesirauina said Hamutenya’s accusations resulted in Ngalangi’s temporary suspension from his position as acting Fischor CEO and general manager of finance for Seaflower Whitefish on 20 December 2019.

“On 9 January 2020, the decision to suspend our client (Ngalangi) by the board of directors was nullified, recognising the lack of merits of the unfounded allegations made by your employee and these statements, insinuations and suggestions pertaining to our client are in their ordinary meaning defamatory of our client,” Katuvesirauina said.

He added that Hamutenya’s allegations were understood by the board to mean Ngalangi is corrupt, a person with low morals and is unfit and unworthy of being the acting CEO of Fischor.

Katuvesirauina said the allegations also created an impression that Ngalangi gained his position as acting CEO of Fishcor and general manager of finance of Seaflower Whitefish through his alleged personal relationship with Hauikulipi and corruptly obtained financial gain from Fishcor in an unscrupulous and unjustifiable manner at the expense of taxpayers.

UGLY EXCHANGES

A series of text messages between Ngalangi and Hamutenya, shared with The Namibian by Ngalangi, show a hostile relationship between the two men.

Hamutenya said in a text to Ngalangi that what he said, he said as part of his job and Ngalangi should keep his name out of his mouth. He added that Ngalangi should not tempt him further.

Ngalangi then responded: “Does your job entail you to create lies about me? Tempt you to do what?”

Hamutenya further said he would ‘show’ Ngalangi if the two were to meet.

“If I have made up something about you, why don’t you face me and do something about it? On two occasions we met near the Hilton, you asked me and I told you to your face what I had said to your board. Man up and face me if you are bothered. You are way too young to challenge me Paulus,” he wrote.

He added: “And this is not the first time. When you had dinner with your former Etosha classmates two to three years before Covid-19, you brought up my name and slandered me. I had never raised it cause of what you guys do. The problem I have is when you start running your mouth around people in my professional circles. That crosses the line.

Ngalangi responded to Hamutenya: “If this is an invitation to be violent, I am not interested. You do what you have to do. Plus, you never told me anything, I made it clear to you the incorrect information you presented to my board and you still defended it. Do what you want to do, boss. If anyone’s name has been slandered, it’s clearly mine.”

Hamutenya then responded: “At some point, we will engage, not via phones.”

Ngalangi then said: “You will see me around”.

Contacted for comment yesterday, Hamutenya admitted having knowledge of the text messages between him and Ngalangi.
He also said he was aware of the letter from Ngalangi’s lawyers to the FIC.

“I have heard about it but I haven’t seen it. Maybe my superiors have received it. I haven’t yet been briefed. I have heard the rumour. Since it’s a legal matter it’s not prudent to comment. I am sure once my superiors have studied it, we will duly respond,” Hamutenya told The Namibian on Thursday.

FIC director Bryan Eiseb told The Namibian on Thursday that he had not received the letter from Ngalangi’s lawyer.

Ngalangi said he had not received an apology from the FIC, despite the seven-day notice having passed.