Namcol employee accused of ‘N$2.5 million' theft

An accountant at the Namibian College of Open Learning (Namcol) is facing disciplinary action over money – believed to be N$2.5 million – that allegedly went missing at the state-owned education institution.

Julia Imene allegedly misappropriated unclaimed refunds belonging to students of the institution.

The money was allegedly diverted to a ghost account, which preliminary investigations suggest is linked to her.

Affirmative Repositioning's Dr Job Amupanda sounded the alarm bell over the alleged theft this week and accused Namcol of not taking any action against Imene.

Concerns raised

Writing on social media, Amupanda remarked: "Namcol employees have been stopped from asking questions on the WhatsApp group about the stolen millions. There is a disagreement – some in management want to keep the theft hidden while others want the public to know the truth."

He added: "Why this information is hidden from the public is because it seems many others are involved in eating student money."

Namibian Sun understands that the matter was discussed internally by Namcol management, with bosses in the finance department allegedly asking Imene to resign instead of facing action.

The matter was allegedly brought to the Namcol board of directors by a staff representative on the board. The Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu), which is represented on the board, is allegedly pushing for criminal charges to be opened against Imene.

Fair disciplinary expected

Namcol director Dr Heroldt Murangi yesterday confirmed that there are allegations of misappropriation of funds at the institution but said he did not have sufficient details at hand.

"I have not received a detailed report from my colleagues yet, but I have heard there are allegations of misappropriation of funds. I don’t have the report with me," Murangi said.

"We are currently on an institutional holiday, but we will issue a report next week," he added.

"We have a zero tolerance for corruption and fraud. The staff member will undergo a disciplinary inquiry," Murangi stressed.

Should an investigation be instituted against Imene, Namcol would ensure the process was fair, he said.

"There are internal procedures that need to be followed; we will appoint an independent person to verify the facts; there are established procedures."

Several calls to Imene went unanswered. She also did not respond to questions sent to her concerning the allegations.