Ex G4S guard Shipanga says he took bag of Namdia diamonds

Former G4S security guard Samuel Shipanga (34) has admitted to the police that he took four plastic bags containing diamonds from Namdia during a robbery last January. In a statement given under oath on 15 April last year, Shipanga, who also handcuffed one of the robbery suspects, Sam Shololo, says diamonds were scattered throughout the building during the incident. “When I turned next to the back of one black car, I found a plastic of diamonds and I picked it up and went outside. It was a small plastic, and I put it in my pocket,” Shipanga confesses. He told investigators that when he arrived home the following morning at around 08h00, he went to his cousin, Immanuel Iipinge, who owned a garage at Goreangab in Windhoek, and gave him the four plastic bags of diamonds. “I gave the diamonds to him, thinking maybe he will know how to sell them. One plastic had six diamonds while the other three plastics I did not count, but each plastic had approximately eight diamonds inside in different shapes,” Shipanga says in his statement. He says his cousin told him he knew how to deal with the stones. “He took the diamonds in the room and we continued working in the garage. He told me he took the diamonds to the storeroom somewhere, and I just said okay,” he says. Shipanga further says Iipinge two weeks later advised him to resign from his job and work at the garage because his salary was too low. He says he resigned from his position on 15 March. “I resigned and started working at the garage,” he says. Shipanga says his cousin travelled north on 19 March and promised to send him money for food. He says Iipinge would sometimes send him N$5 000 and at other times N$3 000. Iipinge sent him N$5 000 on 19 March, followed by N$4 000 on 20 March, he says. “On 22 March he sent me N$5 000, because I was going to the north,” he says. Upon arriving in the north on 22 March last year, Shipanga says he contacted Iipinge, who told him that he was travelling to Angola. “… to get us something to eat, which means he was going to sell the diamonds,” he says. Shipanga also requested money to buy corrugated iron sheets for his room at the village, which he says was in poor condition. “He then sent N$5 000 to my back account,” he says. Shipanga says he later learned from someone in Windhoek that Iipinge and another man had been arrested by the police on 2 April last year. Iipinge and Andreas Akwaake (56) were arrested after allegedly being found in possession of N$725 000, suspected to be the proceeds of the diamonds stolen from Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia). The two were arrested at Noordoewer. Akwaake allegedly told the police the money belonged to a businessman from Ondangwa who had sent them to South Africa to buy a truck. However, the businessman reportedly denied any involvement, saying he had neither engaged the two men in any business transaction nor instructed them to buy anything on his behalf. The two men were allegedly returning from Springbok in South Africa at the time of their arrest. “Apparently my cousin said I am the one who sent him, but he lied to me saying he was going to Angola. He went to South Africa.” Shipanga says he was arrested on 7 April while repairing a vehicle at Ondangwa. According to court documents, police investigations revealed that Iipinge and Akwaake had travelled to Port Nolloth, where they allegedly sold unpolished diamonds. The court documents further indicate that Shipanga received 14 electronic fund transfers from Iipinge amounting to N$40 500 between 5 and 26 March 2025. Namibian Sun in February reported that Namdia is suing G4S for N$314 million following the diamond heist. This came after 446 parcels of diamonds were stolen from Namdia’s Windhoek head office during a robbery on 18 January last year. Namibian Sun reported that Namdia accused G4S of a breach of contract and negligence in performing its security obligations. The post Ex G4S guard Shipanga says he took bag of Namdia diamonds appeared first on The Namibian .