Illegal fuel trade goes underground

Since the latest fuel price increases many northern motorists are flocking to the border town of Oshikango to fill up their vehicles illegally despite a police crackdown on the sale of fuel smuggled in from Angola. According to one illegal fuel trader, it has become harder for them to do business since the demolition of the Okatwitwi informal location by the Helao Nafidi town council. Fuel is now being sold from their shacks, and only to customers that they know. Previously the town council said Okatwitwi was the centre of a thriving trade in smuggled Angolan products, including fuel. The council decided to demolish it to control the sale of these illegal products. Namibian Sun visited the area over the weekend and found that the crackdown had made it harder to buy smuggled fuel. “We are being monitored by the police and we do not sell fuel to just anybody. We are only selling to the customers that we know already and they know how we are operating. The police are after us and since they demolished Okatwitwi its now difficult for us to operate,” a young illegal fuel trader said. “It is also difficult to smuggle fuel into Namibia from Angola because the police are controlling the border. You must have connections with people.” Young boys, Namibian and Angolan alike, are involved in the selling of illegal fuel at Oshikango. Petrol is sold in five-litre containers costing between N$65 and N$70, which amounts to between N$13 and N$14 per litre while the current price of legal fuel in the area is N$13.14. “When the fuel price increases we also increase our price by a dollar.”This does not affect our fuel demand because many motorists in the north prefer our fuel. Our price is different depending on the fuel availability. “If you find there are many people selling then you're likely to get a five-litre container for N$65, but if only a few people are selling then the price will go up to N$70,” the trader said. Motorists earlier said that the illegal fuel may cost the same as legal fuel, but they prefer to use it because it “lasts longer”. They said the only problem is that the boys sometimes add water to the fuel. The spokesperson for the Ohangwena police, Warrant Officer Kaume Iitumba, commended the Helao Nafidi town council for demolishing the informal location. “Okatwitwi was located close to the border, making it easy for these people to smuggle illegal products into the country without us noticing them. “Now that the town council has chased all the street vendors to the open market, which is situated a bit farther from the border, it makes things difficult for them,” Iitumba said. “There is no way a person can carry products for a long distance without being noticed. We are also conducting stop-and-search campaigns throughout the town targeting those illegal products.” He said the illegal fuel trade at Oshikango was on the increase and it was hard for the police to control. He called on the mines and energy ministry to assist the police by amending its regulations. “Those boys are selling fuel in small containers and we cannot arrest them. The law states that one can only be arrested if found in possession of large quantities. We do confiscate their fuel, but we have no fuel storage facilities at the police station, making it dangerous for us to store it,” Iitumba said. He also said that by keeping the fuel in their shacks, the smugglers endanger their own lives and those living near them. “We suspect that there are Namibians who are in partnership with the Angolans and they employ these boys to sell in Namibia. It is not easy for Namibians to access that fuel. Due to our open border they smuggle the fuel into the country.” Helao Nafidi mayor Eliaser Nghipangelwa said the council was advised by the police to do away with the Okatwitwi location and they cooperated. He said illegal fuel sales were only one of the many illegal activities happening at Okatwitwi. “The police have informed us that we have to remove Okatwitwi location because this is where many illegal and criminal activities occur. There are many illegal activities the police have informed us about but I am not at liberty to discuss them,” Nghipangelwa said. He said Okatwitwi residents were relocated to a formalised area, where the council provided water, electricity and some toilets to those they had authorised to do business there. “There are those who were saying that they were not going to move and we suspect that these are people who are behind all these illegal activities. There is no way we will let them stay. We will move all of them,” he said. ILENI NANDJATO

Illegal fuel trade goes underground

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-07

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Illegal fuel trade goes underground

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-07

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