Sanlam fraud accused wants chief investigator Amakali removed

Former Onandjokwe Intermediate Hospital nurse Festus Amwaalwa has requested the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court to remove the lead investigator from his multimillion-dollar fraud case. He says investigating officer Leon Amakali’s continued involvement threatens his right to a fair trial. Amwaalwa, who is one of the 28 people accused of defrauding Sanlam of about N$2.2 million, made the request on Friday while presenting his closing submissions in his bail application. He accused Amakali of misconduct, intimidation and acting against him because of personal issues, claiming the investigator had demanded sexual favours from his sister in exchange for assistance with his bail application. “The investigation team handling this matter is compromised and not fit to bear witness on behalf of the state,” Amwaalwa told the court in his written submission. “I believe Mr Amakali is intentionally targeting me and made me the first accused due to personal issues arising from my sister refusing his request for sexual favours,” Amwaalwa said. The allegations against Amakali have not been tested in court, and the investigator has not publicly responded to the claims. “Mr Amakali has personally threatened me, stating he would ‘make my life difficult’ and could instruct the prosecutor general to implicate me in the murder case of prosecutor Justine Shiweda,” Amwaalwa said. The accused also told the court he was pressured during the statement-taking process, claiming investigators repeatedly rejected his statements. “Since questioning began, I’ve been made to give more than five statements. Several times my statements could be torn up and I was told I was not giving the information they wanted,” he alleged. Amwaalwa further raised concerns over other individuals he claims are linked to the Sanlam investigation but have not been arrested. He referred to Hella Mpinge, Hilma Mulokoshi and Hendrina Shooya, claiming they received favourable treatment from investigators despite claims linking them to the matter. He also denied knowing alleged syndicate leader Abner Matheus. Amwaalwa told the court the alleged conduct of the investigators had damaged his confidence in the process and asked the court to intervene. “Justice is not a privilege, it’s a right,” he said. Amakali did not answer calls or a text message to his cellphone yesterday. Oshana regional commander commissioner Andreas Shilelo did not answer numerous calls to his phone yesterday either. However, he told The Namibian last month that the police were investigating allegations that a police officer involved in the probe of the N$2.2 million Sanlam fraud case made sexual advances toward a female suspect in the matter. He however, declined to give the name of the investigator. At the time, Shilelo confirmed that the allegations were initially reported to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which subsequently referred the matter to the police for further investigation. According to Shilelo, the officer is part of the team investigating the Sanlam fraud case and had been communicating with the suspect by telephone while gathering information relevant to the investigation. “He was digging for more information on the suspect. It turned into a conversation on the phone where the officer was proposing, and then the suspect took the matter to the Anti-Corruption Commission,” he said. Shilelo said preliminary information obtained by the ACC indicates that conversation was recorded.