EDITORIAL: Why Namibia heist warrants commission of inquiry

The so-called Namdia diamond heist has been treated, thus far, as a conventional crime scene problem: suspects arrested, charges laid, a CEO dismissed, and assurances issued that the wheels of justice are turning. But this approach fundamentally misunderstands the scale and significance of what has occurred.More than N$274 million worth of diamonds remains unaccounted for. That alone should shatter any illusion that this is merely a matter for routine criminal prosecution. This was not a smash-and-grab at Okuryangava Stop n’ Shop. It was a catastrophic failure at a national strategic company, with implications that cut to the core of governance and national security.A criminal investigation, however thorough, can only answer who stole the diamonds and how they did it. What it cannot fully interrogate is why the conditions for such a theft existed in the first place - and who created, tolerated or ignored those conditions.How does a state-owned, strategically critical diamond trading company end up being guarded by a private security firm of foreign origin instead of the Namibian Police?The dismissal of Alisa Amupolo as CEO and the arrest of the alleged masterminds may satisfy a public appetite for visible action, but they merely scratch at the surface of a much deeper institutional failure. Leadership accountability does not begin and end with one executive. Where was the board? If members of the current board members had even a modicum of accountability, they would have done the honourable thing and resigned. Namibia cannot afford to treat this heist as an isolated criminal episode. It is a warning flare about how strategic assets are managed and protected. Until the country confronts the systemic neglect that made this breach possible, arrests will bring closure only to the courtroom - not to the nation.

EDITORIAL: Why Namibia heist warrants commission of inquiry

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-16

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EDITORIAL: Why Namibia heist warrants commission of inquiry

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-16

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