Kasuto defends N$250 000 ‘illegal’ withdrawal

… former vice president says union must explain missing millions

Former Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) president Ismael Kasuto says the N$250 000 he is accused of misappropriating from the union’s bank account was meant for the union’s legal fees.

Kasuto’s comments come after MUN acting president Poco Mberiuana released a statement yesterday accusing Kasuto of illegally withdrawing the amount from the union’s trust account.

Mberiuana claims the N$250 000 was transferred to a local law firm for Kasuto’s benefit.

“It is worth mentioning that by the time Kasuto withdrew this amount of money, he was already removed as president of the MUN, and had already received his removal letter.

“The national executive committee is working hard to make sure these members’ money is recovered,” he said.

However, Kasuto yesterday told The Namibian the funds were meant to help the union.

“The funds were authorised by the Namibia Miners Investment Trust (Namit), which was created by the MUN. The intention of the funds was to cater for any litigation process against the trust.

Mberiuana’s camp in the union appears to be fighting Kasuto and his right-hand man, Desley Samsob, who is the former vice president of the union.

Samsob and Kasuto have refused to vacate their roles in the union-owned trust in a bid to allegedly block the misappropriation of union funds.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. We were excited when we heard that the de facto MUN leadership was having a press conference.

“We were expecting the announcement of the extraordinary congress as was initially announced by them, which they’re busy shying away from.

“Why did they not provide the necessary proof to the media of their allegation? The funds were authorised by the Namit trustees. The intention of the funds was to cater for any litigation process against the trust.

“We anticipated the coup d’etat at MUN level as we were alerted by one of their team members to prepare for the future.

“These funds were transferred into a lawyer’s trust account for a specific purpose of the trust (Namit) and not into Kasuto’s private account or for his utilisation as insinuated,” he said.

Responding to the allegations, Samsob said the union must explain the missing millions from the trustee’s accounts.

“Some of them have benefited a lot from the money. Let them open the books so that we can see the allegations. My removal will not silence the financial abuse at MUN and its investment arm. Removing us will not silence us and facts cannot be distorted,” he said.