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By Tracy Tafirenyika 18 November 2024 Award-winning journalist Sonja Smith says journalists need to dig deeper to stand a chance of winning an award. This comes after Smith was crowned journalist of the year at the Editors Forum of Namibia 2024 Journalism Awards on Thursday. “Investigative journalism is motivated by the age-old search for truth, which often has little reward. Few are rewarded for their efforts and it requires uncovering facts that are not reported on in the official version of events. “Those involved in investigative journalism have broken stories that have either shaped, made an impact, or provoked thoughts and debates,” she says. Smith and Petrus Muronga won in the category of education, health and social development, with the story ‘Depo-Provera: The Drug That Divides Women’. Smith was also awarded the best visual storytelling award with Freddie Clayton and Magaret Courtney-Clarke for the story ‘Not the Kind of Life a Human Being Should Live’. “Don’t be too...

By Tracy Tafirenyika 16 November 2024 The Namibian Investigative Unit journalists walked away with four awards at the Editors’ Forum of Namibia (EFN) 2024 Journalism Awards in Windhoek on Thursday. The event was attended by minister of information and technology Emma Theofelus, veteran editor and journalist Gwen Lister, the academic and architect of the Windhoek +30 Declaration, and various local editors. The Namibian journalists were nominated in all eight categories, with the investigative unit, headed by Shinovene Immanuel scooping four awards. Investigative unit journalist Sonja Smith won the journalist of the year award alongside Freddie Clayton and Margaret Courtney-Clarke. Smith also received an award in the education, health and social development category with Petrus Muronga. Two awards were given to investigative unit journalist Timo Shihepo, including the politics and good governance award and another for agriculture, environment, forestry, and fisheries. Former investigative unit journalist Esther Mbathera was awarded the economic journalism award. In her speech, Mbathera...

By Sonja Smith 5 August 2024 The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) says no criminal evidence was found against the Namibia Institute of Pathology (NIP) executives who bought luxury vehicles. The ACC conducted a probe after a request from Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu) general secretary Petrus Nevonga on 28 February this year. ACC director general Paulus Noa, in a letter addressed to Napwu two weeks ago, said the investigation of the parastatal found no criminal evidence. “ACC could not find criminal evidence that may justify the submission of the docket to the prosecutor general for criminal prosecution. The minister and the board exercised their oversight and administrative authorities when they approved the vehicle scheme as part of the fringe benefits for the executives,” Noa said. The Namibian reported in March this year that Nevonga had asked the anti-graft agency to investigate alleged corruption at the NIP, including some of the parastatal’s bank account transactions, and...

By Sonja Smith 18 March 2024 Businesswoman Tania Hangula has agreed to pay back N$4 million of the N$6,6 million she benefited from the now defunct Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Bank. Hangula received N$6,6 million from the bank between 2015 and 2019 – some of which was used to purchase a beach property, a Mercedes-Benz and to fund her trips to Dubai and other countries. Hangula is said to have been reluctant to pay back the money over the years, but last month changed her mind. She has now agreed to refund the bank in installments starting in September this year, until 2029. This is according to the settlement agreement, dated 8 March 2024, between herself and the SME Bank’s liquidators – Ian McLaren and David Bruni. “The defendant shall, without admission of liability, in full and final settlement and while acknowledging that if a court may find in other cases that she is...

• SONJA SMITH, SHINOVENE IMMANUEL and TILENI MONGUDHI THE National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) is embroiled in a dirty power struggle between its board chairperson Jennifer Comalie and managing director Immanuel Mulunga over the control of the state-owned oil company. Comalie is accused of interfering in operational matters after she instructed Mulunga to act fast on a dispute involving a friend of hers – also a businessman. She is also accused of pushing Namcor into a hydrogen deal despite concerns from managers about the terms of the partnership. Mulunga is accused of turning a blind eye to allegations against one of Namcor’s influential executives. He is also accused of making a N$100 million payment without the board’s approval. Comalie has denied any wrongdoing, while Mulunga has declined to comment. Several communications between Comalie and Mulunga in November last year show an ongoing power struggle between the two.The conflict seems to extend beyond their individual roles...

• SONJA SMITH, TILENI MONGUDHI and SHINOVENE IMMANUEL THE National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) board is investigating its managing director, Immanuel Mulunga, over his involvement in a payment of N$100 million for two Angolan oil blocks. Namcor will co-own the oil blocks with Angola’s state-owned oil entity, Sonangol, and two other partners in a joint venture known as Sungara Energies. The probe is said to be linked to an ongoing fierce power struggle between Namcor board chairperson Jennifer Comalie and the parastatal’s managing director, Immanuel Mulunga. Namcor is currently the government’s vehicle in major oil discoveries off Nambia’s coast, including being part of three oil discoveries linked to Shell, Qatar Energy and Chevron. But it’s a deal that Namcor got itself into in Angola that has attracted attention of the board. Comalie confirmed to The Namibian on Monday that the board has started investigating an investment by Namcor in Angola which some see as...

• SONJA SMITH, SHINOVENE IMMANUEL DEPUTY prime minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah declined an offer by president Hage Geingob to be appointed as Namibia’s prime minister. Sources said Nandi-Ndaitwah also requested that Geingob remove the international relations portfolio from her list of duties. Geingob subsequently decided to retain his current top three, including vice president Nangolo Mbumba, prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, and Nandi-Ndaitwah, who remains fourth in terms of state power. Nandi-Ndaitwah’s supporters said she prefers being vice president in order to prepare for the Presidency if the ruling party wins next year’s national elections. They point to former president Hifikepunye Pohamba’s decision to appoint then trade minister, Geingob as prime minister, after the 2012 congress. At the time, the prime minister was the second most powerful position in the government. After defeating former minister Jerry Ekandjo and Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana for the Swapo vice president position, Geingob replaced Nahas Angula, who was moved to the defence ministry. Nandi-Ndaitwah’s...

• SONJA SMITH FORMER Ovaherero paramount chief Kuaima Riruako’s children are battling to finalise their father’s estate. The battle includes concerns about profits from a fishing company he co-owned. Riruako died in June 2014, ending his 35-year reign of the traditional authority at the age of 79. He became the paramount chief after his cousin Clemens Kapuuo was assassinated in 1978. His estate, seen by The Namibian, provides insight into the former leader’s assets valued at N$3,2 million.This includes cattle, cars, and firearms. Riruako, a former member of parliament, did not leave a will that could be used to disburse his assets.He is survived by his wife, Enesia Riruako, and 16 children. His family says they are struggling to finalise his estate – eight years after his death. They say they requested the financial statements of a fishing company he co-owned, so they can be paid an estimated N$1,3 million. Riruako’s son Brian Riruako last week said these...

• SONJA SMITH and SHINOVENE IMMANUEL A CENTRAL Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) bid evaluator was involved in awarding a N$48 million Ministry of Health and Social Services tender to a close corporation owned by her relative when bidding closed last year.Yesterday, the board stated it had no knowledge of the connection between the company and the individual responsible for evaluating tenders, as it had not been disclosed. Additionally, documents reveal that the company at the centre of the controversy underwent a change of ownership in August – just two weeks after the tender process was closed. This was also three weeks after the company submitted its bids to the procurement board.This development adds more question marks to the N$2,4 billion health tenders which have attracted public attention since last month. The origin of this tender can be traced back to April 2022 when the CPBN issued an invitation for bids to supply...

• SONJA SMITH A CLOSE corporation which employs one person and is owned by former TransNamib chief executive Saara Katiti’s daughter scooped health tenders worth N$141 million last month to supply medical products to the health ministry.The close corporation Taliindje Investment CC of Helena Figura, who is Katiti’s daughter, is the second biggest beneficiary from the controversial medical tenders worth N$2,8 billion awarded by the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) last month. The tender awards include a tender worth N$650 million awarded to a company owned by businessman Shapwa Kanyama. There are concerns these health tenders – which attracted over 20 objections – were dominated by a clique of well-connected Namibians and their proxies. Katiti herself benefited from the same tenders worth N$2,8 billion through her close corporation, which was awarded tenders worth around N$6,4 million. The former TransNamib chief’s close corporation also won a tender to supply condoms for N$6...