By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Namibia’s National oil company’s Head of the board of directors, Jennifer Comalie has been arraigned on accusations bordering of drug trafficking.
She was arrested on Monday at the company’s premises, following a tipoff by officials of Drug Enforcement Agency, who also recovered a consignment of drugs in her official vehicle.
She was on Tuesday arraigned before a Windhoek Magistrate Court on charges of dealing in “dangerous dependence-producing substances.”
A spokesperson for the Namibian Police in the Khomas region, Silas Shipandeni, confirmed the arrest.
“The contraband [was] discovered in her vehicle of which, amongst, others there was a discovery of 995 grams of cannabis of which one can call ‘skunk, 10 grams of cocaine powder and 90 units of crack cocaine,” Shipandeni said.
He estimated the total value of items recovered to be 50,000 Namibian dollars.
A group of about 50 supporters gathered at the magistrate court on Tuesday to offer support to Comalie, whom many believe was set up as a result of a power struggle between her and the managing director of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR).
NAMCOR, in partnership with Dutch oil giant Shell and Qatar Energy, recently announced a major oil discovery off the coast of Namibia.
NAMCOR owns a 10 percent stake in the joint venture, which may provide huge revenues for Namibia if drilling and production proceed.
A Namibian corporate leader and a friend to the accused, Twapewa Kadhikwa, was among those showing support for Comalie in court.
She told VOA she believes Comalie’s arrest is politically motivated by those with an interest in Namibia’s touted oil sector.
Comalie was released on bail on Tuesday.
The inspector general of the Namibian police, Joseph Shikongo, has called for an investigation into the circumstances that led to her arrest and who tipped off police about the drugs allegedly found in her car.
