Injured diamond heist suspect denied bail, hunt for 'more suspects' continues
Sam Shololo, an ex-soldier and the second accused in the high-profile Namdia diamond heist case, was denied bail yesterday in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Olga Muharukua.
Shololo, without a lawyer, appeared in court yesterday after being discharged from the hospital on 21 January, where he was reportedly recovering from injuries sustained during the 19 January robbery.
He was denied bail following opposition from Public Prosecutor Rowan van Wyk, who mentioned the need to locate outstanding suspects still at large as one of the reasons.
However, this reasoning appears contradictory, as nearly a week ago, Namibian Sun reported, citing reliable sources, that police preliminary investigations suggested that some police officers or private security guards might have played a role in the disappearance of 446 diamond parcels at Namdia, especially since no suspects were found to have fled the scene of Saturday’s robbery, as initially suspected.
“No one escaped from the scene, so the version that some robbers took the missing diamonds is no longer being entertained. It’s either that Angula took all the missing parcels and hid the majority of them elsewhere, or someone else from the police or security company stole them,” the source said.
The first police reports had suggested that four external suspects, excluding Joel Angula, were involved in the robbery and that two of them fled with diamonds worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Angula and Shololo both face similar charges of charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, robbery and possession of rough and uncut diamonds.
Van Wyk also emphasized the seriousness of the charges and expressed concerns that releasing the accused could obstruct ongoing investigations, interfere with witnesses, and undermine both public interest and the administration of justice.
The court has postponed the case to May 23, 2025, to allow for further investigations and to allow Shololo to apply for legal aid.
Shololo, without a lawyer, appeared in court yesterday after being discharged from the hospital on 21 January, where he was reportedly recovering from injuries sustained during the 19 January robbery.
He was denied bail following opposition from Public Prosecutor Rowan van Wyk, who mentioned the need to locate outstanding suspects still at large as one of the reasons.
However, this reasoning appears contradictory, as nearly a week ago, Namibian Sun reported, citing reliable sources, that police preliminary investigations suggested that some police officers or private security guards might have played a role in the disappearance of 446 diamond parcels at Namdia, especially since no suspects were found to have fled the scene of Saturday’s robbery, as initially suspected.
“No one escaped from the scene, so the version that some robbers took the missing diamonds is no longer being entertained. It’s either that Angula took all the missing parcels and hid the majority of them elsewhere, or someone else from the police or security company stole them,” the source said.
The first police reports had suggested that four external suspects, excluding Joel Angula, were involved in the robbery and that two of them fled with diamonds worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Angula and Shololo both face similar charges of charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, robbery and possession of rough and uncut diamonds.
Van Wyk also emphasized the seriousness of the charges and expressed concerns that releasing the accused could obstruct ongoing investigations, interfere with witnesses, and undermine both public interest and the administration of justice.
The court has postponed the case to May 23, 2025, to allow for further investigations and to allow Shololo to apply for legal aid.
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