State House technician kills himself

One of the officials at State House who was involved in installing the controversial N$1 million elevator at a government house occupied by former vice president Nickey Iyambo, has allegedly killed himself.

The Namibian understands that the deputy director for maintenance in the Office of the President, Reinhold Namupala, shot himself in the parking lot at Midgard lodge, about 90km from Windhoek.

The body of Namupala (38), who joined State House in 2017 from Telecom, was found in his vehicle yesterday morning.

A source yesterday said that Namupala had gone to Midgard lodge to attend a workshop hosted by State House.

The police yesterday said Namupala could have shot himself between Sunday night and yesterday morning by using a 9mm Makarov pistol.

According to the police, Namupala shot himself on the right side of his head once while sitting in the driver’s seat of a white double-cab Amarok vehicle.

“A 9mm Makarov pistol with eight live rounds and one empty cartridge were found at the scene. No suicide note was found,” the police said.

The statement continued: “No foul play is suspected. Next of kin are informed. No firearm licence found”.

Police inspector general Sebastian Ndeitunga, who yesterday said they would investigate the circumstances around Namupala’s death, cautioned the public against making wild speculations.

“We will investigate whether there was foul play and possible suspects,” he said, further advising the public on social media to avoid speculation that could, in the end, hurt the family and those close to Namupala.

Namupala’s suicide comes three days after the Presidency issued a statement slamming the installation of the N$1 million elevator at the Eros house, and promising to charge the culprits.

Although the statement appeared to blame certain officials for the installation of the elevator, senior officials distanced themselves from involvement in the installation.

They claimed that they never approved it, and that left other officials such as Namupala in the spotlight. State House spokesperson Alfredo Hengari said president Hage Geingob had sent a message of condolences to Namupala’s family.

Hengari added Namupala was a dedicated and collegial employee in the Presidency.

“The Presidency wishes to express heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the wife, children and the entire bereaved family of the late Reinhold Namupala.

“As the Presidency mourns the loss of a beloved colleague, Mr Namupala, the Presidency appeals to the public to avoid speculation, and allow the police to carry out their investigation,” Hengari said.

A person who answered the phone which belongs to Alina, who is Namupala’s wife, said the family was in shock.

Fillipus Lumbu, Namupala’s former colleague at Telecom, said he was shocked and devastated when he heard about his death.

Lumbu said Namupala was a dedicated person who always had a smile wherever he was.

“There was no day that you would find him sad, even if you saw him on the streets,” he noted.

Lumbu said he last saw Namupala at the Kasivibe festival in March this year where the two had fun, and he showed no signs of sadness.

“One wonders what transpired. Everyone in the office [Telecom] is devastated by the situation. He was a young man who was full of life,” he continued.

It’s not clear how this latest development will affect the investigations into the elevator issue.

A person briefed about this matter said Geingob fumed at Samuel /Goagoseb, the permanent secretary to the president’s office at the time – last year – for entertaining this tender.

The house was offered to Iyambo after he moved out of another state-owned house following his replacement by Nangolo Mbumba as vice president in February last year.

Iyambo, who was forced to step down due to ill-health, temporarily returned to his private house in Eros. But sources said he informed the government that he wanted a temporary residence while he renovated that house.

This is not the first time that a top official commits suicide after media reports. The Namibian also reported last year that senior Namibia Central Intelligence Service manager Paulus Tshilunga (58), who was accused of fraud and money laundering to the amount of N$17 million, allegedly committed suicide a month after he appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on corruption charges in a case that was set to shake the intelligence community.