A daring late Saturday afternoon heist that left two dead, two arrested and possibly over N$300 million worth of diamonds disappearing into thin air could have been prevented.
The Namibia Desert Diamonds was last year warned that it was a target for a potential heist.
Police deputy inspector general for operations Elias Mutota confirmed to The Issue that police late last year alerted Namdia about what appeared to have been an imminent heist.
“We had a meeting with them and warned them that we have information about a planned heist. We informed them to be vigilant and upgrade their security,” he said.
Mutota said he cannot speak on behalf of Namdia and could not respond to whether the parastatal did indeed upgrade its security in anticipation of the robbery, which now became a reality.
Namdia is a diamond marketing and sales company, established in 2016 by the government to market a portion of Namibia’s diamonds. The entity, which trades as a private company, was established to market Namibia’s diamonds independently as part of a price discovery exercise that formed part of an agreement between the government and its partner global diamond giant, De Beers. This agreement compelled the government, De Beers joint venture (Namdeb Holdings), to make 15% of its yearly production – estimated to be worth around N$2.6 billion – available to Namdia, which would then independently trade them on the international market.
Sources briefed about the developments said that the robbery happened at a time when the parastatal was preparing for the first sale for the year. And Namdia was processing its largest-ever consignment of diamonds, valued at approximately N$318 million.
It is not clear whether the robbers made off with the entire consignment. There have also been reports that diamonds were found at the crime scene.
In a statement released to the media around 02h48 on Sunday, Namibian Police spokesperson Kaunda Shikwambi said: On Saturday 18 January 2025, between 17h00 and 18h00, it is alleged that four armed suspects with firearms unlawfully and intentionally entered Namdia’s premises. The police do not know how the suspects got access to the premises.
The police further stated that the alleged robbers held the company’s employees hostage and managed to tie them up and stole an undisclosed amount of diamonds.
Francis Eiseb (57), a security supervisor at Namdia, was found dead in a storeroom with his hands and legs tied and a bag covering his head. He had a gunshot wound to the head. His next of kin have been informed.
A suspect was also found with what appeared to have been gunshot wounds. He later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. He was later identified as Max Endjala, a renowned squash player who was a senior employee at Trustco Group of companies.
Trustco spokesperson Neville Basson said the company will issue a statement on Monday.
Police said Endjala shot himself possibly to avoid capture.
Various firearms and knives were collected from the scene.
One suspect was arrested at the crime scene on Saturday night, while a second was arrested on Sunday. Police claimed that one of the arrested suspects was employed in the security department of Namdia and is believed to be related to the deceased suspect Endjala.
Namdia chief executive officer Alisa Amupolo confirmed the incident and said a formal police docket has been registered under charges of armed robbery with aggravating circumstances and murder.
“Given the sensitive nature of the incident, Namdia is dedicated to ensuring that all information shared is thoroughly verified by the investigating authorities and does not compromise the ongoing investigation,” she said.
She said there were four suspects involved in the robbery.
TURMOIL AT NAMDIA
The robbery comes at a time when Namdia is struggling financially, largely due to a slowdown in global diamond sales. The Issue understands that the company has been forced to sell diamonds at below-market-value rates as a result.
Last year Namdia CEO Alisa Amupolo also survived a disciplinary hearing during December.
It is not clear what she was charged with, but the charges coincide with her facing repeated calls to step down.
Media reports in July last year indicated that Amupolo’s management is blaming her for the company making over N$200 million in losses.
Amupolo did not respond to questions about the disciplinary action against her.
The Issue also understands that security is a significant part of Namdia’s work and the company’s CEO, chief operations officer and chief of security will be the first to answer for the latest security breach.
