RA fraud trial awaits PG decision

Iuze Mukube The trial of Grant Cloete and Richard Milinga, who are accused of fraud in relation to the N$3.2 million weighbridge scandal, has been set down to wait for Prosecutor General Martha Imalwa’s decision. Cloete, an employee of SA Scale Company, and his co-accused, Roads Authority (RA) divisional manager Milinga, each face a charge of fraud, with an alternative charge of theft. The charges are in connection with the fraudulent certification of a suspicious invoice valued at more than N$3 million, which fraudulently indicated that goods had been delivered when they had not. The two were arrested last year following an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), where as part of its investigation, the ACC seized assets valued at more than N$2 million, believed to be connected to a weighbridge supply. Court records indicate that it is alleged that on 8 April 2025 at RA in Windhoek, the accused, falsely and with intent to commit fraud, pretended to give RA authorised payment for services rendered. By means of these false pretences, the accused induced RA to act, resulting in or potentially causing a financial prejudice to the RA in the amount of N$3 268 062.60. The two are out on bail, and the matter was postponed to 20 August 2026 for the prosecutor general’s decision. The decision directs whether the matter will be prosecuted in a higher court or in the same court and what charges the accused will be facing during trial. – mukubeiuze@gmail.com