Ndeitunga shields Geingob over Phala Phala

New revelations in the Phala Phala farm saga revealed that President Hage Geingob held a private meeting with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa’s envoy Bejani Chauke and head of security Wally Rhoode.The pair was flown into Windhoek with a Namibian Police helicopter in pursuit of Namibian suspects who broke into Ramaphosa’s private farm and allegedly stole N$13 million in cash.Both Geingob and Ramaphosa are accused of a grand cover-up and abuse of state resources in a robbery for which no formal charges have been filed in either country.Both heads of state have denied any wrongdoing.Rhoode, head of the South African presidential protection services, in affidavits submitted to the office of the South African public prosecutor, confirmed meeting Geingob in June 2020 in the company of Chauke, at the height of investigations into the missing millions.In the affidavits, seen by Namibian Sun, Rhoode confirmed travelling to Windhoek with a Namibian Police helicopter after a meeting at no man&#039;s land near the Naskop border post.Two weeks after the meeting, the key suspect in the robbery, Imanuwela David, was arrested in Windhoek.A Namibian police intelligence report confirmed that David was interrogated extensively on the Phala Phala robbery and details of the theft were confirmed.The Bank of Namibia’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) also conducted its own investigation into the matter and submitted its findings, which were never made public, to relevant authorities.‘No truth’David was only charged with a misdemeanour charge of crossing into Namibia through an undesignated entry point, for which he paid a fine before he was deported back to South Africa where Ramaphosa’s men apprehended him and further interrogated him on the farm robbery.Namibian Sun, citing an audio recording of the interrogation, reported in June that David confessed to having robbed the farm with other Namibian men, getting away with US$800 000 (N$13 million).In a stuttering statement on 10 June, the Namibian presidency said Geingob’s assistance of Ramaphosa did not constitute criminality. While it was widely believed that Ramaphosa only sought Geingob’s assistance via a phone call, Rhoode’s statement to the public prosecutor confirmed that - in fact - the South African president sent Chauke and Rhoode to meet the Namibian president in person.The Namibian presidency kept this information out of its five-page denialist statement.“There is absolutely no truth in the allegations that President Geingob inappropriately used his office to assist president Ramaphosa,” it said at the time.Defence modeFollowing Rhoode’s bombshell, police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga jumped to Geingob’s defence, saying the president should in no way be connected to the Phala Phala saga as he is not involved in the operational matters of the police force.The Namibian Police was working hand in hand with its counterparts in the southern African region, hence it sending its chopper to no man’s land to investigate possible incidences of crime, Ndeitunga said.“We went to no man’s land, now they are talking about Hage. These people should leave Hage alone. They should leave the President alone; we are not politically involved.”The trip was necessitated by the cooperation between police forces in Southern Africa, he added.“We went to the other side so that they can tell us we are working together.”

Ndeitunga shields Geingob over Phala Phala

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Ndeitunga shields Geingob over Phala Phala

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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