Ex-Namcor board rejected advice to ‘arbitrarily’ sack Mulunga

The previous board at Namcor had rejected legal advice from company lawyers to fire managing director Imms Mulunga in relation to a N$53 million transaction between the company and Enercon, saying it was illegal to fire him before a disciplinary hearing found him guilty.Namibian Sun understands that lawyers Raymond Heathcote and Clive Kavendjii - who represented Namcor during the disciplinary hearing against Mulunga, who was charged for effecting a N$123 million payment for an Angolan oil deal without approval of the board - advised directors that Mulunga’s employment contract contained a termination clause that either party could trigger to part ways with the other. The advice by the lawyers was allegedly based on a labour consultant’s opinion they had sought. The directors rejected the advice, saying any termination of the employment contract must be preceded by a disciplinary process as is stipulated in the country’s labour law.“One of the directors even gave an example that if a cleaner was caught on a CCTV camera stealing detergent, the footage alone cannot be used to fire her without following the due process of a disciplinary process,” a source told Namibian Sun.After the term of office of the Jennifer Comalie-led board expired in June, the same lawyers are said to have again approached the new board with the idea of firing Mulunga on the basis of the Enercon deal. The deal involved Namcor having paid N$53 million to Enercon in 2022 in order for the former to take over a fuel supply contract and related infrastructure business with the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), The Namibian reported. That deal collapsed before Namcor could take over the supply, and Enercon has since struggled to return Namcor’s money.Consequently, while in the middle of the disciplinary hearing on charges emanating from sanctioning the N$123 million payment for the Angolan oil block without the board approval, Mulunga was slapped with separate charges for his alleged involvement in the Enercon deal.It is the latter deal for which lawyers advised that Mulunga could have his contract terminated without a new hearing being held.‘Arbitrarily’ fired“The lawyers said the Enercon deal was strong enough to terminate Mulunga’s contract without a disciplinary hearing. But the board rejected this advice on multiple grounds,” another source said.“The board advised that Mulunga must be charged separately for the Enercon deal, a decision which was implemented. But before the hearing could start, they fired him arbitrarily. “The new board was shocked to hear that Mulunga had been cleared in the Angolan deal issue and they feared that he would immediately return to work. So, instead of suspending him freshly for the Enercon deal – so that he doesn’t return to work – they decided to fire him without a hearing. There’s no such provision in the Labour Act.”The source added: “Also, the principle of fairness would dictate that the board should have amplified the original charges [of the Angolan oil deal] by adding the Enercon charges. You can’t keep crafting new charges every time an employee has been cleared of the previous ones. What is shocking is that the line minister [Ipumbu Shiimi] has allowed this to happen on his watch”.Last week, the board justified its action, saying: “The board considers the misconduct by the managing director to be of a serious nature, warranting this decisive action”.Shiimi refused to discuss the matter last week, referring all inquiries to the board. Million-dollar hearingNamibian Sun understands that, so far, Namcor has spent N$5 million on the hearing against Mulunga. The company is expected to spend an even higher amount if Mulunga challenges his dismissal in court.“With eight managers on suspension at Namcor, the company would spend anything between N$10 million and N$15 million on disciplinary hearings.”In 2023, Namcor and Mulunga had started settlement negotiations, but these were allegedly stopped halfway on the advice of company lawyers. “Obviously for lawyers, the longer this matter dragged on, the more money they made. Therefore, you can’t tell whether this advice was strictly professional or influenced by the amount of money the lawyers were making from the Mulunga saga,” an official close to the matter said.

Ex-Namcor board rejected advice to ‘arbitrarily’ sack Mulunga

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-06

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Ex-Namcor board rejected advice to ‘arbitrarily’ sack Mulunga

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-06

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