TransNamib told to act on rail crashes by Friday

Works and transport minister Veikko Nekundi has given the TransNamib board until Friday to conclude its internal process over the fatal Rovos Rail derailment in March and the January 2025 Swakop River bridge collision.

Nekundi accused the board of failing to act on investigation findings as he directed them to do in June.

“I spoke to them, they simply slept on duty," he said.

"Thank you for reminding me on the matter. I directed the chair now to conclude the internal process by Friday,” Nekundi told Namibian Sun yesterday.

The Rovos accident claimed the lives of two railway crew members, while the Swakop River bridge collision damaged 10 fuel tankers and three containers.

Nekundi initially instructed the board on 22 June to take appropriate action and report back within 14 days, but the process remains unresolved.

The minister said the board had blamed procurement delays.

He also confirmed being aware of disciplinary proceedings against a TransNamib manager in the south who was allegedly cleared.

“I am fully aware, it is for that reason that I directed the board to handle the matter, as I believe the management is somehow conflicted,” he said.

Failure to communicate

In his 22 June letter, Nekundi said investigators found that the Rovos Rail train had entered the affected section without prior warning about the poor condition of the railway line.

“The absence of the patrol, directly linked to the communication gap, became the primary contributing factor to the accident,” he wrote.

The derailment occurred on 1 March near Naute, killing TransNamib locomotive pilot Richard Wimmerth (49), a Namibian, and Rovos Rail locomotive driver Hendrik du Plessis (55), a South African.

The investigation found that a required track safety patrol had not been conducted before the train entered a section where the railway embankment had eroded.

On the Swakop River bridge collision, Nekundi attributed the findings to staff negligence and failures in inspections and communication.

“In view of the matters that emanated from the investigation report, among many are the significant findings that were grossly attributed by the TransNamib staff members’ negligence,” Nekundi wrote.

The buck stops here

A confidential TransNamib board submission has recommended disciplinary proceedings against chief executive Desmond van Jaarsveld and other senior executives, arguing that responsibility for the accidents should extend beyond operational employees.

The submission, dated 15 July and seen by Namibian Sun, was prepared by executive for Human Capital Webster Gonzo (Gonzo was reportedly dismissed this week due to an unrelated matter), who raised concerns about whether management had adequately maintained railway infrastructure, enforced safety procedures and acted on previous warnings.

“The evidence disclosed in the investigation reports demonstrates that the derailment was not simply the consequence of individual operational error. It reflects apparent failures of executive leadership, governance, risk management and organisational oversight,” Gonzo wrote.

He argued that the fatal derailment exposed broader weaknesses in TransNamib's management and asked why accountability appeared to be concentrated on engineering personnel.

“Where systemic failures contribute to the loss of life, accountability cannot stop at the engineering department. It must extend to every level of management whose decisions, omissions or failures may have created or permitted the unsafe conditions that resulted in the tragedy,” he wrote.

Gonzo recommended disciplinary proceedings against Van Jaarsveld and other executives whose conduct or omissions may have contributed to the accidents.

“It is legally appropriate and consistent with the principles of good governance that disciplinary proceedings be instituted against the CEO and all implicated members of executive management, with responsibility to be determined through an independent and procedurally fair disciplinary process,” he wrote.

The submission also queried whether TransNamib had allocated sufficient resources to railway safety and implemented recommendations arising from previous accidents.

“With the huge investment that has been provided to the company in the last two years, what portion of this has been earmarked or used to improve operational safety for the company?” Gonzo wrote.

He further alleged that the site of the fatal derailment was already known within TransNamib as a danger area because of previous washaways, yet effective rehabilitation had not been undertaken.

Gonzo said established procedures required physical inspections of vulnerable railway sections before trains were allowed to proceed, particularly after rainfall.

Asked to comment, Van Jaarsveld yesterday requested more time. Board chairperson Esther McLeod did not respond, and her deputy, Gilroy Kasper, referred Namibian Sun to the company secretary.

Swakop bridge collision

The January 2025 Swakop River bridge collision also featured prominently in Gonzo’s submission, which asked whether employees and executives responsible for cargo inspections and train operations had been held accountable.

The train departed Walvis Bay carrying 13 loaded fuel tankers, eight containers and other cargo. Investigators found that some containers exceeded the bridge's clearance height, damaging ten fuel tankers and three containers.

Eight tankers were leaking and were rejected by the client over safety concerns.

Nekundi's investigation identified inadequate inspections, poor communication and failures in handling abnormal cargo.

“Thereafter is also a litany of major breaches of long established rail protocols for which no disciplinary or very little disciplinary action has been taken against the offenders to date,” Gonzo wrote.

He criticised the carriage and wagons division, which falls under the engineering department, for failing to carry out adequate inspections.

He said the department “did not conduct their duties as diligently as they could have and thus should have been taken through disciplinary action”.

He added: “This makes the executive, and his management team also answerable on this matter.”