Fraud-accused Manga Nawa-Mukena, her husband Joseph Mukena and a third accused, Celestino Gabriel Antonio, are expected back in court in October for the allocation of a trial date and a judge.
The matter has been before the court for several years due to outstanding pre-trial issues, making the recent development a necessary step forward in the litigation of the case. The matter was postponed to 27 October 2026 for allocation of trial dates and a judge.
Nawa-Mukena faces 85 counts of fraud. She and her husband face 85 counts of the alternative of theft.
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Nawa-Mukena alone faces 84 counts of forgery and uttering a forged document.
Additionally, all three accused face a second count of forgery and uttering a forged document. The Mukenas face one count of contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
All three face one count of money laundering and one count of obstructing or defeating the course of justice or attempting to do so, while Nawa-Mukena solely faces one count of contravening the Value Added Tax Act.
The Mukenas and Antonio pleaded not guilty at the start of their trial in 2021. The State alleges that the charges arise from the falsification of 80 invoices worth N$2.08 million for advertising services.
According to the State, between 1 April 2013 and 17 March 2017, Nawa-Mukena and her co-accused allegedly defrauded MultiChoice Namibia.
It further alleges that, over a period of three years, the trio falsified 85 invoices and enticed the television company to pay for advertising services that were never rendered.
Nawa-Mukena and her husband are facing various charges in relation to allegedly falsifying invoices for DSTV and GOTV advertisements in the Kundana newspaper.
Police investigations alleged that, between January 2014 and March 2017, Nawa-Mukena directed Multichoice to deposit over N$2 million into her bank account rather than paying Kundana for advertisements that were supposedly placed in the publication.
Mbanga Siyomunji represents Antonio, and the state is represented by Erich Moyo.
