Family of slain security boss questions Namdia’s ignored heist warning and ‘cover-up’

The family of security chief Francis Eiseb, who died in an armed robbery that saw Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) lose N$350 million worth of diamonds, wants answers on the circumstances surrounding his death.

They want to know why the diamond marketer failed to update its security last year, despite police warnings that the company was the target of a potential heist.

Eiseb’s brother, Godfried Eiseb, yesterday told The Namibian that the family has questions about the lack of transparency and communication of both Namdia and the police on Eiseb’s death.

They claim there may be a cover-up.

“Why is Namdia only updating its security now after our brother was killed? Why did they not update it when they were warned about a possible robbery last year?” Godfried asked.

Eiseb (57) was killed at the parastatal during the robbery on 18 January.

The incident resulted in the death of Trustco internal and forensics investigation unit chief operations officer Max Endjala and the arrest of his cousin, Joel Angula, and Sam Shololo.

Godfried alleged a case of wrongful death, and wants to know why his brother was called to the scene of the robbery while not on duty.

He questioned the police’s differing reports on the incident.

Godfried wants to know what role diamond mogul Doron Cohen, who is a state witness, played in the incident.

Cohen allegedly had close ties with Endjala.

“We want to know who killed my brother. We don’t want to stand in the way of justice, but they are too quiet, while we have lost our brother,” Godfried said.

Police deputy inspector general for operations Elias Mutota in February told The Namibian the police alerted Namdia to what appeared to have been an imminent heist late last year.

“We had a meeting with them and warned them that we have information about a planned heist. We informed them to be vigilant and upgrade their security,” he said last month.

Rui Tyitende, a public policy analyst, also questioned why Namdia’s management did not provide the precious stones with more advanced security.

“How do we explain that critical natural resources to the tune of billions of dollars were being guarded as if they were potatoes that were being stored in that building or matangara [offal]?” he asked.

Apart from Angula, Namdia has ruled out all other employees as suspects in the incident.

The parastatal yesterday issued a three-page update on the multimillion-dollar heist.

In the statement, Namdia spokesperson Beverley Coussement said to date diamonds valued at N$40.6 million have been recovered out of the total amount of gemstones valued at N$314.9 million that were stolen.

“At this stage, there is no reason to believe any staff members, apart from the protection officer already arrested, were involved in the robbery,” Coussement said.

Angula (45) is one of two arrested suspects.

The second is Shololo (45).

Namdia’s board has suspended its chief executive, Alisa Amupolo, as well as chief operations officer Uahoroka Kauta and security manager Paulinus Sheyapo to ensure “a thorough and impartial internal investigation”.

The company has upgraded its security system after the heist “to strengthen protective measures”.

In addition, it has hired security consultants to supervise the upgrade.

Namdia’s statement came after official opposition leader McHenry Venaani on Wednesday slammed prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila in the National Assembly about the government’s silence on the robbery.

The Popular Democratic Movement leader yesterday told Desert FM had it not been for his questions, Namdia would not have been transparent.

“Had it not been for me, this information would have been lying somewhere there and nobody would have been informed,” he said.

“The government must come clean on this thing and tell us what really happened,” he said.

Venaani said Namdia’s lack of communication is “utter rubbish”.

“We must be informed periodically. These diamonds were recovered. Recovered how? They must be able to give a little bit more information,” he said.

Namibia Institute for Democracy spokesperson Ginola Nauseb yesterday said the company’s level of transparency translates to a lack of trust.

“This is something we often see from a lot of parastatals with regards to issues of this nature.”

Nauseb said to foster a sense of public trust, Namdia should have communicated sooner to avoid the public “filling in the gaps”.

“I know the public is saying things like the higher-ups are involved, and obviously because we don’t know the full story, it’s easy for people to speculate.

“Not that we stand on those speculations, but we understand fully where people are coming from,” he said.

Ethics analyst Basilius Kasera yesterday said it is worrying that the Ministry of Mines and Energy is treating the heist like it is “private business”.

“It’s not only showing the public interest, but also international shame. We are not being open about who the people responsible are,” he said.

Kasera questioned why Namdia’s leadership did not ensure adequate security measures.

“If you’ve been told there are some possible leaks of security, you need to plug, and you don’t do that, that’s a serious ethical breach of your own contract – especially the leadership of the company, beachse you are supposed to ensure the company is so secure that nobody is able to steal from you, but they didn’t do that,” he said.

National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi yesterday told The Namibian the police have told the public that information on the number of suspects has changed as investigations progressed.

“Information regarding the incident changed due to the police reporting initially at the date and hour of the incident. Investigations always bring new developments,” she said.

Shikwambi said the police only work with facts and evidence that can be presented in court.

She said the police are not quiet on the matter, but are currently in the process of obtaining statements from witnesses.

“All evidence has been collected. This is forensic and ballistic testing, with the results contained in forensic and post-mortem reports which form part of the case docket and the court case,” she said.

The police investigation team briefed Eiseb’s family last week, Shikwambi said.

“If the family has any further queries, I advise that they make contact with the investigation team.

Coussement yesterday promised to respond to The Namibian’s questions within 24 hours.

“We will revert within 24 hours. Thank you,” she said.

Namdia said they will only respond to questions from The Namibian after one day.