Willemse denies making his fortune from Namcor amid bribery charges
Nikanor NangoloWindhoek
Namcor-Enercon corruption accused Cedric Willemse has testified that his income streams long predated his employment at the national oil company, dismissing claims that he only began generating wealth after joining the beleaguered entity.
During his bail hearing at the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday, Willemse detailed a mix of businesses and properties he owned, ranging from farming operations to rental units.
He stressed that he had already been earning a substantial income before his Namcor tenure.
Challenging allegations linking his finances to Namcor, Willemse pushed back: “The narrative out there is that when I joined Namcor, I came begging, desperate for a job to pay my bills. That is not true. My bank statements and businesses before Namcor prove otherwise.”
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigators are believed to be probing Willemse’s links to several luxury vehicles, including a Jeep Gladiator – reportedly once owned by former South African football legend Mark Fish – worth over N$1.4 million, a limited-edition VW GTI, and a Mercedes-Benz GLE 400 SUV valued well above N$2 million.
Willemse also reportedly owns property at Langstrand on Namibia’s coast and in South Africa.
Evidence in chief
“My income comes from farming and the sale of alkaline water,” Willemse testified in response to questions by his lawyer Boris Isacks.
He explained that his farming ventures date back to 2011 when he bought his first farm stocked with goats, sheep, cattle, springbok, ostriches, pigs and chickens. He said he also processes and sells meat products directly to informal markets, which he described as “very lucrative”.
He further disclosed ownership of four rental flats, which generate monthly income, despite one tenant refusing to pay after his arrest.
Willemse said he also sold a South African nightclub in 2017 for N$6 million under a repayment agreement, receiving about N$95 000 a month.
He said the contract was authenticated by South African police.
Willemse confirmed additional rental income from leasing farms while rejecting claims that he relied on “name-for-money” schemes to fund property purchases, insisting most were financed through bank loans.
Work history
He told the court his entrepreneurial ventures began long before Namcor.
In 1996, he joined BP in South Africa as a trainee distribution manager, where he spent eight years before accepting a retrenchment package to pursue his own business ventures.
Willemse said he ran a nightclub, two sports bars, three butcheries and a bottle store in Upington, all before relocating to Namibia in 2006.
Next, he consulted for BP Namibia before taking on the role of general manager at Eros Fuel Services, overseeing aviation fuels.
In 2008, he joined Namcor Trading and Distribution as logistics and depot manager, a position he held until 2011.
He then moved to Scorpion Zinc Mine in Rosh Pinah, initially as logistics manager, later moving into procurement and serving as acting commercial manager until 2016.
Willemse testified that his professional background is rooted in the downstream petroleum sector, covering fuel logistics, retail and terminal operations. “In Namibia, midstream and downstream are combined, so the supply, terminal operations, retail and commercial all fall under downstream,” he explained to the court.
By 2018, Namcor Trading had approached him for consultancy work. He agreed, balancing advisory services with his own transport business, he noted.
A consultancy agreement signed in 2021 was followed by a permanent appointment as supply and distribution manager in June 2022, after Namcor declined to renew his consultancy.
Arrest and charges
Willemse was arrested in early July as part of an ACC investigation into alleged widespread fraud and corruption at Namcor, totalling up to N$480 million.
Prosecutors allege that Willemse received about N$3 million from Enercon Namibia and Erongo Petroleum between March 2018 and May 2023.
He is also accused of receiving N$4.05 million between July 2022 and November 2022, linked to proceeds of unlawful activities.
It is alleged that he failed to disclose approximately N$60 million in income between 2018 and 2022, resulting in a tax liability of around N$20.7 million.
Among the 10 charges he faces are fraud, corruptly accepting gratification, corruptly using his position for gratification, money laundering and failure to declare income for tax purposes.
Once celebrated online for his luxury cocktails and flashy persona, Willemse, aka ‘Mr It Is What It Is’ and ‘The Legend of Namibia’, now finds himself at the centre of one of Namibia’s largest corruption probes.
[email protected]
Namcor-Enercon corruption accused Cedric Willemse has testified that his income streams long predated his employment at the national oil company, dismissing claims that he only began generating wealth after joining the beleaguered entity.
During his bail hearing at the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday, Willemse detailed a mix of businesses and properties he owned, ranging from farming operations to rental units.
He stressed that he had already been earning a substantial income before his Namcor tenure.
Challenging allegations linking his finances to Namcor, Willemse pushed back: “The narrative out there is that when I joined Namcor, I came begging, desperate for a job to pay my bills. That is not true. My bank statements and businesses before Namcor prove otherwise.”
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigators are believed to be probing Willemse’s links to several luxury vehicles, including a Jeep Gladiator – reportedly once owned by former South African football legend Mark Fish – worth over N$1.4 million, a limited-edition VW GTI, and a Mercedes-Benz GLE 400 SUV valued well above N$2 million.
Willemse also reportedly owns property at Langstrand on Namibia’s coast and in South Africa.
Evidence in chief
“My income comes from farming and the sale of alkaline water,” Willemse testified in response to questions by his lawyer Boris Isacks.
He explained that his farming ventures date back to 2011 when he bought his first farm stocked with goats, sheep, cattle, springbok, ostriches, pigs and chickens. He said he also processes and sells meat products directly to informal markets, which he described as “very lucrative”.
He further disclosed ownership of four rental flats, which generate monthly income, despite one tenant refusing to pay after his arrest.
Willemse said he also sold a South African nightclub in 2017 for N$6 million under a repayment agreement, receiving about N$95 000 a month.
He said the contract was authenticated by South African police.
Willemse confirmed additional rental income from leasing farms while rejecting claims that he relied on “name-for-money” schemes to fund property purchases, insisting most were financed through bank loans.
Work history
He told the court his entrepreneurial ventures began long before Namcor.
In 1996, he joined BP in South Africa as a trainee distribution manager, where he spent eight years before accepting a retrenchment package to pursue his own business ventures.
Willemse said he ran a nightclub, two sports bars, three butcheries and a bottle store in Upington, all before relocating to Namibia in 2006.
Next, he consulted for BP Namibia before taking on the role of general manager at Eros Fuel Services, overseeing aviation fuels.
In 2008, he joined Namcor Trading and Distribution as logistics and depot manager, a position he held until 2011.
He then moved to Scorpion Zinc Mine in Rosh Pinah, initially as logistics manager, later moving into procurement and serving as acting commercial manager until 2016.
Willemse testified that his professional background is rooted in the downstream petroleum sector, covering fuel logistics, retail and terminal operations. “In Namibia, midstream and downstream are combined, so the supply, terminal operations, retail and commercial all fall under downstream,” he explained to the court.
By 2018, Namcor Trading had approached him for consultancy work. He agreed, balancing advisory services with his own transport business, he noted.
A consultancy agreement signed in 2021 was followed by a permanent appointment as supply and distribution manager in June 2022, after Namcor declined to renew his consultancy.
Arrest and charges
Willemse was arrested in early July as part of an ACC investigation into alleged widespread fraud and corruption at Namcor, totalling up to N$480 million.
Prosecutors allege that Willemse received about N$3 million from Enercon Namibia and Erongo Petroleum between March 2018 and May 2023.
He is also accused of receiving N$4.05 million between July 2022 and November 2022, linked to proceeds of unlawful activities.
It is alleged that he failed to disclose approximately N$60 million in income between 2018 and 2022, resulting in a tax liability of around N$20.7 million.
Among the 10 charges he faces are fraud, corruptly accepting gratification, corruptly using his position for gratification, money laundering and failure to declare income for tax purposes.
Once celebrated online for his luxury cocktails and flashy persona, Willemse, aka ‘Mr It Is What It Is’ and ‘The Legend of Namibia’, now finds himself at the centre of one of Namibia’s largest corruption probes.
[email protected]
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article