Namcor has suspended its managing director Immanuel Mulunga, as of April 4, pending an investigation.
The company has been wracked by scandal recently with the arrest of the Namcor chair, Jennifer Comalie, for drug possession.
Comalie and Mulunga had fallen out. Mulunga was also facing accusations on a number of fronts, including on a deal he was backing for Namcor in Angola and on local product supplies.
The New Era newspaper has reported the Anti-Corruption Commission summoned Mulunga for questioning over the Angola transaction.
Namcor said it had suspended Mulunga pending an investigation. It called for the opportunity to go about this “process in a respectful manner”.
The board has picked Lionel Matthews to serve as acting managing director for six months, starting on April 12. In the meantime, business strategy executive Shiwana Ndeunyema will manage the business.
“We wish to assure all our stakeholders that the Namcor Board is committed to ensure that issues are addressed in the interest of the company and the nation at large,” it said. The statement said the relationship between the board and the management was “of paramount importance”.
The board has taken steps to tackle “shortcomings” in this relationship.
The opposition party, the Popular Democratic Movement, called for the government to suspend Mulunga last week. The party also said it would seek a parliamentary investigation “into what appears to be mafia-style corporate governance at Namcor”.