Denver Isaacs
2 December 2008
THE Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday swooped on the Otavi Village Council, arresting the municipality's CEO on charges of embezzling money from the village's Build Together Fund.
Village CEO Josua Esrom Shilungu (46) and an alleged accomplice, council storeman Kefas Geiseb, were both arrested in the morning and transported to Grootfontein, where they made their first court appearances on the charges.
ACC boss Paulus Noa said yesterday that the arrests were the result of a close to year-long investigation into allegations of corruption against some officials in the Otavi Village Council.
"The investigation revealed that during the 2004 to 2005 [financial year], Mr ...
Shilungu corruptly embezzled Build Together funds, a total amount of N$50 833.95, by transferring the funds into his bank account," Noa said in a press statement issued in the afternoon.
Shilumbu allegedly corruptly awarded a tender to Geiseb, a subordinate of his, for an amount of N$9 000, the ACC director said.
"The tender was corruptly acquired in 2007, whereby the name of someone else was used," Noa said.
N$7 500 of this N$9 000 has already been paid to Geiseb.
Shilunga was granted bail of N$10 000 while Geiseb's bail was set at N$5 000.
Both men paid bail and have to be in court again on February 18 next year.
The Village Council chairperson, Ndapewa Nambili, yesterday declined to comment on what happened.
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