Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Brigadier Ngoy Timothee Makwamba, part of the DRC Defense Ministry to acquire weapons from the Denel Group in South Africa, has reportedly stolen around R49.6 million from the local government.
The money was used to purchase four luxury mansions and put the properties in his, his children’s, and three other people’s names.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) asset forfeiture in Pretoria had a preservation order for R43 million of the stolen cash on March 11th.
“The two bank accounts contained R35 million and R224,765.38 respectively, which were both frozen by the authorities,” said Lumka Mahanjana, a spokesperson for the NPA.
“The DRC embassy then made a payment of R49.6 million to the Denel group. However, the Denel Group could not process the order and arranged to pay back the money to the DRC embassy,” Mahanjana added, referring to the incomplete transaction.
The DRC cut Makwamba’s contract in December 2022, making him unable to represent the country or the government.
Makwamba provided bank details of Johan van Heerden Attorneys, where the refunded money was sent from the Denel Group, which was then transferred to Makwamba to purchase the properties.
