Namibia Roads Company Probes US$1.8 Million in Fuel Payments After Shortfall
Namibia · Governance
Key Facts
- —What happened The board of the Roads Contractor Company, Namibia’s state road builder, announced an internal fuel-payments investigation on 18 September 2026.
- —How much The company paid N$30 million (about US$1.8 million) for fuel; N$17 million (about US$1 million) of it never arrived, The Namibian reported.
- —Who the suppliers are Oshali Fuel Centre CC, whose owner faces charges in another case, and Eco Fuel Investment CC, reportedly tied to fugitive Victor Malima.
- —The catch The Anti-Corruption Commission says it is not investigating this matter, and nobody has been charged over the road company’s payments.
- —What the chief executive says Interim chief executive Dasius Nelumbu told The Namibian the matter is before court; the company itself denied opening a case.
- —What comes next The board has set no public deadline; Oshali’s owner is due back in court in the Namcor case on 28 October 2026.
Namibia’s state road builder paid two suppliers for fuel that mostly never arrived. One is owned by a man facing charges in a separate state fuel-graft case; the other is linked in press reports to a fugitive.
A Namibia roads company owned by the state paid N$30 million (about US$1.8 million) for fuel between 2023 and 2025. Fuel worth N$17 million (about US$1 million) never arrived, according to documents reported by the Windhoek daily The Namibian.
The company is the Roads Contractor Company, or RCC, a government-owned builder that spent 2017 to 2023 facing liquidation. Its board said on Friday 18 September 2026 that it had opened an internal investigation.
Where the money went
Most of the money went to Oshali Fuel Centre CC, a fuel supplier. The RCC paid it N$27 million (about US$1.7 million) for deliveries to road sites around the country.
Conversions use a rate of about 16.26 Namibian dollars to the US dollar, from European Central Bank data on 21 September 2026. The Namibian dollar is pegged one-to-one to the South African rand.
An RCC reconciliation found fuel worth N$14 million (about US$860,000) was never delivered. The Namibian quoted a demand letter from the RCC chief executive to Oshali, dated 18 February.
The first payment, N$17.5 million (about US$1.1 million), went out on 21 September 2023 for the Engoyi project site. The last listed payment, N$2.7 million (about US$166,000), followed on 30 April 2025.
Oshali delivered 680,561 litres of the nearly 1.4 million litres ordered, the chief executive wrote. That is less than half.
The Namibian reported that some sites had not begun operating when the fuel was paid for. It also reported that one N$2.7 million payment in April 2024 produced no fuel at all.
The remaining N$3 million (about US$185,000) concerns a fuel tender won by Eco Fuel Investment CC. The Namibian reported that the company did not supply fuel for a road project near Henties Bay in 2023.
The names behind the suppliers
Oshali’s sole member is a businessman named Handjene. In April 2026 he and his company were added as accused in the Namcor case, a major fuel-fraud prosecution.
Namcor is the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia, the state fuel company. The Namibian says the case involves more than N$380 million (about US$23 million) in unpaid debts.
Handjene faces charges of theft, money laundering and receiving gratification under the Anti-Corruption Act, the news site Informanté reported. He was released on bail of N$50,000 (about US$3,100).
His case returns to the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on 28 October 2026. The court is awaiting a decision from the prosecutor-general, Namibia’s chief state prosecutor.
Those charges concern Namcor, not the RCC. The Namibian could not reach Handjene for comment, and emails to his company bounced back.
Eco Fuel Investment CC has been linked by The Namibian to Victor Malima, a businessman sought in the Namcor inquiry. A warrant for his arrest was issued in July 2025.
The Namibian Sun reported that he left Namibia through the Wenela border post at Katima Mulilo on 11 July 2025. He is believed to have gone to Angola.
No arrest has been reported, and no comment from Malima on the RCC payments has been reported.
In February 2025 an Eco Fuel spokesperson denied wrongdoing. She told The Namibian the company was not involved in its clients’ procurement.
What the chief executive and the board say
The Namibian reported that the payments were personally approved by interim chief executive Dasius Nelumbu. In March 2025 the board said he took office in March 2024, after the first payments had been made.
Asked about the payments on Wednesday 16 September 2026, Nelumbu pointed to the courts.
He told the newspaper the matter “is before court and is therefore subject to the principle of res sub judice”. Sub judice is the rule against discussing cases still before a judge.
The RCC, however, denied opening a case, and the newspaper’s sources said none had been registered. They said talks over repayment were continuing.
In a 3 March proposal, Handjene offered to set aside 20 cents for every litre ordered toward the balance. He would do so in partnership with another fuel company, Vanco Energy CC.
In his February letter, Nelumbu threatened to sue if Oshali did not pay. He wrote that “the RCC’s legal department has instructions to institute legal proceedings against your company”.
Board chairperson Lea Namoloh said the board was “fully seized with this matter”. The inquiry will examine the procurement processes followed and any legal proceedings already under way.
“Should the investigation confirm misconduct, the board will act firmly to hold those responsible accountable,” she said. The board has announced no timeline and has not named anyone under review.
No criminal inquiry into the RCC payments
The Anti-Corruption Commission, Namibia’s graft investigator, says it is not investigating. “The Anti-Corruption Commission is not investigating this matter,” spokesperson Marina Matundu told The Namibian last week.
Nobody has been charged over the RCC’s fuel payments. No authority has found that Nelumbu or anyone else at the company broke the law.
In February 2025 The Namibian reported an anti-corruption inquiry into Nelumbu over three tenders. One was a N$1.5 million (about US$92,000) fuel purchase from Eco Fuel.
Nelumbu denied wrongdoing at the time. The board publicly backed him and said it would await the outcome, which has not been reported.
Why it matters beyond Namibia
The Namibian reported in February 2025 that the RCC had relied heavily on government bailouts, including to pay salaries. Its debts reached about N$900 million (about US$55 million) before the liquidation threat lifted, The Namibian reported.
For a country courting investors for offshore energy and green hydrogen, repeated disputes over fuel payments at state firms carry a cost. The internal probe at this Namibia roads company is the next test of whether procurement controls hold.
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What is the Roads Contractor Company?
The Roads Contractor Company, or RCC, is a state-owned civil engineering company that builds and maintains roads in Namibia. It faced liquidation between 2017 and 2023 because of debts of about N$900 million (about US$55 million). The Namibian has reported that it relied heavily on government bailouts, including to pay salaries.
How much fuel did the RCC pay for and not receive?
The Namibian reported that the RCC paid N$30 million (about US$1.8 million) to two suppliers between 2023 and 2025. Fuel worth N$17 million (about US$1 million) was never delivered. Most of the shortfall, N$14 million (about US$860,000), involves Oshali Fuel Centre CC.
Has anyone been charged over the Namibia roads company fuel payments?
No. The Anti-Corruption Commission told The Namibian it is not investigating the matter, and the RCC board’s review is internal. Oshali’s owner faces separate charges in the Namcor fuel case, which awaits a prosecution decision. Victor Malima, linked to the second supplier, is sought on a July 2025 arrest warrant in the Namcor inquiry.
Sources: The Namibian on the undelivered fuel, RCC board statement of 18 September 2026, The Namibian on the internal probe and the ACC’s position, Informanté on the charges against Oshali and its owner, Namibian Sun on Malima leaving Namibia, Windhoek Observer on the Interpol alert, The Namibian on the 2025 ACC inquiry, The Namibian on the board backing its chief in 2025, European Central Bank reference rates
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This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief