Man 'wrongly' receives N$124 000 from GIPF

The payment of N$124 000 by the state's pension fund into the incorrect beneficiary's account is currently the focus of a civil case in the Windhoek High Court.In the Government Institutions Pension Fund’s (GIPF) particulars of claim, it argued that an erroneous payment was made to Euriku Kapitia between July and August 2023. In the matter, the GIPF is now demanding payment of the full amount. Parties appeared in court last week for pre-trial proceedings.An administrator, who is only identified as Ms Nuuyoma, processed the claim in July 2023, court documents read.The GIPF claimed that during this process, Nuuyoma apparently changed the banking details of the rightful recipient - the Kuleni Preservation Fund, which was supposed to receive the N$124 000 - and replaced them with Kapitia's.After the transfer, Kapitia allegedly transferred N$118 000 to Letshego Holdings Namibia, which is also listed as a respondent in the case.Not involvedIn response to the lawsuit, CEO Ester Kali said in her affidavit that the matter does not involve Letshego, to which the money was transferred. She further criticised the GIPF's understanding of banking law."I am advised that a bank which is aware of funds deposited into its customer's account by a third party and knows that the customer has no legal claim to those funds is obliged to take steps to prevent damage to the third party by preventing the misappropriation of those funds by the client.” She added that if a bank has such knowledge and fails to prevent damage to the third party, it will be considered an accomplice in the theft along with the client.‘Flawed’ applicationKali explained that Kapitia took out a loan of N$103 000 from Letshego. He gave the bank permanent authority to withdraw the loan payments, including any arrears and accrued interest, from his bank account - held with FNB Namibia.When the N$124 000 was paid into his account, Kapitia's Letshego loan debt stood at N$91 034. This amount was then deducted from his bank account to settle the debt.Kali argued that the GIPF's legal claim is flawed because FNB Namibia is not included as a party. "The bank acts as the economic intermediary. It manages deposits and grants loans without direct reference to the depositors. This underlines why FNB [Namibia], as the custodian of GIPF's deposits, should be included in the lawsuit."The parties will appear in court again on 25 September for further pre-trial proceedings before Judge Boas Usiku.

Man 'wrongly' receives N$124 000 from GIPF

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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Man 'wrongly' receives N$124 000 from GIPF

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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