THE ghost of government-issued guns smuggled to South African criminal gangs, which have been haunting the police, is now also catching up with the defence ministry.
New information has now surfaced that guns belonging to the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs have allegedly also found themselves on the black market both in Namibia and South Africa.
The Issue has now learnt that the syndicate allegedly stealing firearms from the defence ministry has been in existence dating back to 2018. While firearms such as 9mm pistols, fully automatic AK47 assault rifles, ammunition and accessories have been stolen from the Leopard’s Valley military base on the outskirts of Windhoek.
As a result five military officials and their four alleged accomplices have been arrested and criminally charged.
The nine accused persons are expected to appear in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court in May next year for the commencement of their criminal trial. They are expected to answer questions related to the theft, smuggling and black market sale of military-owned guns allegedly destined for South African-based criminal gangs in the Western Cape.
They are facing 81 charges, ranging from theft, corruption, illegal possession of firearms, illegal possession of machine guns, illegal sale and supplying of firearms, organised crime and defeating or obstructing the cause of justice, court documents state.
The five soldiers charged are Thomas Paulus, David Chicken, Frans Hiskia, Ushona Setson and Silvanus Nghitiwa. They are joined in the dock by Simon Mutota, Alweendo Namandje, Elias Mwentwikange and Luqmann Davids.
STING OPERATIONS, DRUGS AND THE MILITARY POLICE
The Issue has learnt that early in 2021, authorities were alerted to a syndicate selling military-grade guns and ammunition in Windhoek’s informal settlements of Havana, Hakahana and Goreangab. AK47s were going for N$4 000 a unit, 9mm pistols for N$2 000 a piece.
They also had magazines and pistol leather holsters. A joint investigation task team between the Namibian Police and the Military Police was then assembled to investigate.
Law enforcement sources also told The Issue that an undercover mission was launched with officers from both the military and the police posing as buyers.
The investigation led to the arrest of five soldiers, some of whom were at the time attached to the Leopard Valley military base’s armoury.
The operation recovered an undisclosed number of pistols and AK-47s. However, further investigations found that more participants existed and that the ultimate buyer was Oshakati-based fresh produce businessman, Luqmann Davids. He now appears as accused number nine in court documents related to the case. Law enforcement sources told The Issue that it was believed that Davids would allegedly buy the guns and smuggle them to Cape Town. He allegedly buys pistols for N$4 000 an item and N$6 000 per AK47. He was also facing another 2017 criminal investigation from Ondangwa. This case related to alleged possession of stolen firearms.
During February 2021 police allegedly visited Davids for questioning about his alleged role in the gun smuggling syndicate at his business premises in Oshakati. He allegedly evaded the police and sped away with his Cape Town-registered vehicle. A high-speed chase ensued with the police. Sources say he was later found hiding in a mosque compound in the Okandjengedi area, and police also found an undisclosed amount of cannabis (dagga) in his car. An additional case for the possession of cannabis has also been opened with the Oshakati police.
SILENCE
Despite the existence of this case since 2021, the defence ministry has either remained silent or denied that its firearms have been stolen and landed in the hands of Western Cape criminal gangs in South Africa. The Issue has sent detailed questions seeking clarity in September to the Ministry of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs, which has not responded to the said questions at the time of publishing.
The case with the nine accused currently in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court confirms the findings by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, which reported during September that Namibian government-issued firearms have been seized by South African authorities in Cape Town.
It was also widely reported in the Namibian media that at least six police officers and two civilian employees of the Namibian Police have been arrested in 2022 in connection with 180 pistols stolen from the police armoury and allegedly ended up in the hands of criminal gangs in Cape Town, South Africa. This case was withdrawn during September after the magistrate refused to grant the prosecution a further postponement. Police chief Joseph Shikongo was quoted in the media saying that the case is not related to the findings by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.
Interestingly, the same year, 2021, the smuggling of guns from the military was uncovered, and the defence ministry also blocked the Auditor General’s office access to its facilities. Media reports at the time stated that the Auditor General’s office was trying to verify whether the ministry did indeed spend N$500 million on military equipment. At the time the military accused the Auditor General of “spying”.
Auditor General Junias Kandjeke’s office did not respond to detailed questions, sent during September, pertaining to whether his office has concluded any audits with the military and whether an updated inventory of the ministry’s ammunition existed.
