Editorial: Namcor arrests show Netumbo means business on corruption

Just a week after President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah issued her clearest directive yet to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Office of the Prosecutor General – urging them to “root out corruption” with urgency and resolve – the country is already witnessing serious action.

Yesterday’s dramatic arrest of five individuals, including former Namcor managing director Immanuel Mulunga, former CFO Jennifer Hamukwaya and former logistics manager Cedric Willemse, signals that the ACC is beginning to find its bite. The arrests, tied to murky oil deals, questionable procurement practices and missing millions, are not just symbolic. They are substantive and go to the heart of state capture-style rot that has long plagued public institutions.

For years, the national oil company has been mired in scandal – from the suspicious Angola oil block payment to misappropriated fuel stocks and irregular transactions with politically connected firms. Despite red flags raised by board members, auditors and even the media, few consequences followed – until now.

The Netumbo administration is barely four months old, but this swift action aligns with her clear anti-corruption stance. In her address to parliament just days ago, delivered by prime minister Elijah Ngurare, she said: “We have no minute, no hour, no day, no week, no month to waste in the quagmire of bureaucracy.” Her call for corruption to be treated as “an act of treason” is no longer just lofty rhetoric – it is being translated into action.

This should not be the end, but the beginning. The Namcor arrests must not be isolated. If the government truly wants to restore public trust, other entities with long-standing allegations – be it in state-owned enterprises, local authorities or procurement boards – must also be subjected to the same scrutiny.

If this momentum is sustained, Namibia may finally be on the cusp of turning the corner.