ACC questions motives of Mulunga suspension

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) claims the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia’s (Namcor) board was so hell-bent on suspending managing director Immanuel ‘Imms’ Mulunga, that after realising giving him the temporary boot over the Angola oil deal wouldn’t stick, they looked for alternative charges against him.ACC cleared Mulunga over the N$100 million payment he authorised as part of acquiring two oil blocks in Angola, saying there was no criminal intent. Mulunga authorised the payment without approval of the board, something the ACC said should not have happened.An investigation into his conduct was already concluded in 2022 and could thus not be used to suspend Mulunga in March this year, the ACC observed.Namibian Sun reported in April that the board last year roped in a South African commercial law firm, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, to investigate the transaction. A report by its lead investigator, Megan Rodgers, found that Mulunga did not act in bad faith, but should have gotten approval for the transaction.It recommended that Namcor obtain legal advice to determine how the situation should be handled.Alternative justificationAn ACC report released this week read: “The board, embarking on an attempt to an alternative justification, then discussed putting the managing director on special leave, pending the appointment of a lawyer to advise how to proceed with the report on [the money transferred to Angola].” The report alleged that board chairperson Jennifer Comalie proposed that Mulunga be suspended on new grounds – including on allegations that he had been leaking confidential information to the media.“The aforementioned circumstances are what caused [the ACC] to find that it appears that the board - or perhaps some members of the board - were at all costs scrambling to hunt down the managing director with a suspension.”“When the two initially-devised reasons could apparently not hold water, it was not enough for them to lay the issue of suspension to rest.“They decided to go for new reasons in the subsequent board meeting to meet their pre-conceived intentions,” the report read.Power strugglesNamcor has been rocked by power struggles, mostly pitting Mulunga and Comalie against each other.The ACC labelled the Mulunga suspension ‘questionable’, and interrogated its timing.“The suspension took place in the ministry of finance boardroom at around 19:00, a few days after the arrest of [Comalie] on allegations of [dealing in] drugs.”“In the board meeting, which took place after the chairperson’s arrest, [Comalie] proposed that the managing director should be suspended, though the proposal was not on the agenda prior to her arrest,” the ACC said.The commission further observed that there was a proposal to place Mulunga on special leave, but this could not happen because Namcor has no policy for that kind of leave.The anti-graft body said while it recognises the board’s responsibility to ensure effective governance, directors must act with ‘genuine’ intentions.“If the board finds the first and second misconducts not working, and goes as far as searching for the third misconduct which is not in any case related to the matter on their previous agenda, it raises questions whether the board is just, fair and did not act in a manner that compromises their integrity.” Still suspendedMulunga remains on suspension on three charges. In addition to alleged media leaks, he will also answer to alleged stock loss at Namcor – believed to be in relation to fuel worth N$69 million belonging to Validus Energy, which the national oil company reportedly used without the owner’s consent. The fuel was kept at the national oil storage at Walvis Bay, which Namcor manages.He is also charged for a confirmatory affidavit he issued in a matter involving Namcor’s chief financial officer Jennifer Hamukwaya, who dragged the company to court over its decision not to renew her contract.

ACC questions motives of Mulunga suspension

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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ACC questions motives of Mulunga suspension

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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