The state-owned diamond trading company, Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia), is suing a security company for N$314 million in the wake of a deadly armed robbery staged at Namdia's head office in Windhoek in January this year.In a lawsuit filed in the Windhoek High Court against the security company G4S Secure Solutions (Namibia), Namdia is claiming that it suffered damages in an amount of N$314 million, for which it claims G4S is liable, as a result of the robbery on 18 January.
Namdia and G4S Secure Solutions (Namibia) concluded an agreement on the provision of full-time remote monitoring and armed response services by G4S to Namdia in May 2024, lawyer Gilroy Kasper, who is representing the diamond company, states in the claim that Namdia filed at the court.
Kasper says in terms of the agreement G4S "shall render its remote armed response service in order to prevent theft, burglary and vandalism" at Namdia's premises.
An unknown number of individuals gained entry to Namdia's premises in Windhoek on 18 January, and in the wake of two deaths that took place at the premises that day, 446 parcels of diamonds, valued at N$314 million, were stolen, according to Kasper.
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"The defendant [G4S] through its designated employee Samuel Shipanga during the course and scope of his employment with the defendant, was present at [Namdia's] premises when the heist occurred, was complicit in the heist, and has since been arrested and charged in relation to the heist," Kasper states in Namdia's claim.
He alleges that G4S breached its agreement with Namdia by being "grossly negligent", that "it failed to react and prevent the theft of diamonds, despite its presence at the premises at the relevant time", and that it failed to render its service in accordance with generally accepted professional techniques and practices to prevent theft, burglary and vandalism to Namdia's premises.
G4S has not yet responded to the legal action being taken against it. Shipanga (33) is one of the people criminally charged in connection with the robbery at the Namdia head office.
He was charged in early April with the theft of four parcels of diamonds from the Namdia premises.
A Namdia security officer, Joel Angula (46), and another accused, Sam Shololo (50), are charged with counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of rough or uncut diamonds, and attempted murder.
A security officer employed by Namdia, Francis Eiseb (58), died when he was shot during the robbery.
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One of the alleged robbers, Max Endjala (43), also died at the crime scene. The police announced at the time that he had died of a self-inflicted gunshot injury.
Angula and Shololo are due to make their next appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court on 23 October.
