Former National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) managing director Imms Mulunga says he and fugitive fuel firm owner Victor Malima only had a business relationship.
He did not have a personal relationship with Malima - but he drove a car which Malima is alleged to have given to him as a bribe and took the vehicle to be serviced after Malima asked him to do so, Mulunga testified during a bail hearing in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court yesterday.
When public prosecutor Basson Lilungwe asked Mulunga if he had a personal relationship with Malima, who is the sole member of the fuel-trading close corporation Eco Trading, Mulunga answered: "Not, not at all. It was a business relationship."
Malima is also wanted in connection with alleged fraud and corruption at Namcor, but is reported to have left Namibia.
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After objections from defence lawyers stopped Lilungwe from presenting a document from the car dealership Audi Centre to Mulunga, Lilungwe informed Mulunga the investigating officer in the matter would tell the court that Malima bought a car in the name of one Hileni Kamati and that the vehicle was given to Mulunga thereafter.
"It's not my vehicle, it was not registered in my name, so it's therefore not my property," Mulunga answered.
Lilungwe continued by telling Mulunga that he booked the car in for a service at Audi Centre and signed for the service.
"That's correct," Mulunga said.
"However, that does not make it my vehicle. I had taken the vehicle to the service because I had driven the car for two or three days, and Victor Malima asked me to go and drop it on his behalf because he was flying to Ondangwa."
Lilungwe also told Mulunga the investigating officer will testify the car was bought for him because of the "dubious circumstances" under which Mulunga bought bulk fuel storage facilities at nine Namibian Defence Force bases from the company Enercon Namibia on behalf of Namcor.
Mulunga responded that he did not have any comment on that statement.
Lilungwe further told Mulunga that money which came from Namcor and was paid to Malima's Eco Trading was used to buy the car that was given to him.
"I have no comment to that. I'm not aware of those facts," Mulunga said.
The charges against Mulunga include a count of corruptly accepting gratification.
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In the charge, the state is alleging that Mulunga corruptly accepted an Audi Q8, valued at about N$3.2 million, from Malima between 15 and 18 August 2022 as a reward for facilitating the purchase of nine service stations by Namcor from Enercon Namibia and facilitating the supply of fuel to Enercon and the close corporation Erongo Petroleum without payment.
Asked about the alleged Audi Q8 bribe on Wednesday, Mulunga told magistrate Linus Samunzala he does not own such a car and was not given such a vehicle.
"I do not possess that vehicle," he added. "I was not offered that vehicle."
On the purchase of service station assets from Enercon, Mulunga admitted that Namcor's internal policy stated that purchases in excess of N$25 million had to be approved by Namcor's board of directors.
Saying it was "an oversight" that Namcor's budget of N$25 million for asset acquisitions and N$40 million for business development was used without the approval of the company's finance and audit committee to buy the service station assets, Mulunga added this was something that was not criminal and for which he was disciplined by the board.
This was one of the reasons why he lost his job as managing director, he said.
Mulunga, who was arrested on 8 July, has told the court he is willing to deposit N$10 000 to be released on bail.
