Imalwa targets alleged drug dealer’s bank account

Prosecutor general Martha Imalwa has approached the High Court seeking a preservation of property order to freeze money held in a Standard Bank account belonging to alleged drug dealer Edward Kambahe.

The application, brought under section 51 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, follows the granting of an unexplained wealth order by the High Court on 5 February.

In her affidavit, Imalwa describes Kambahe as a “known drug dealer” with a history of narcotics convictions.

The investigation into his finances intensified following a dramatic police operation in February 2025.

According to court documents, members of the police drug law division intercepted a midibus on the Kamanjab-Outjo road.

A search of the vehicle uncovered a plastic-wrapped box hidden beneath a passenger seat containing 1.912 kilograms of compressed cannabis (skunk), valued at about N$95 600.

According to Imalwa, the bus driver told the police he was acting on the instructions of a man he knew as “Fossy,” later identified as Kambahe.

Imalwa states in her court papers that the police identified the Standard Bank account, Erf 386 in Rotsvesting Extension 2 at Kamanjab, and two vehicles as property linked to Kambahe.

When questioned, Kambahe allegedly told police investigators that he had accumulated his assets through operating taxis since 2008.

He claimed he had purchased and sold several vehicles over the years and currently operated several other vehicles for passenger transport, Imalwa says.

However, the Roads Authority records allegedly show that only two vehicles are registered in his name.

The remaining vehicles are reportedly registered in the names of other individuals.

She says none of the vehicles were issued with public road transport permits and that one had been deregistered and declared unroadworthy.

When questioned by the police about his wealth in January this year, the Imalwa says Kambahe claimed his assets were the result of a legitimate transport business.

He purportedly asserted he has driven taxis between Kamanjab, Outjo and Windhoek since 2008 without permit.

Kambahe allegedly claimed that he initially drove his relatives’ cars before he bought his own in 2011. He later bought a seven seater and another vehicle in 2016, which he allegedly used as a taxi.

He reportedly sold the vehicles in 2022 and bought two others.

Kambahe allegedly claimed that he would make N$1 800 in his taxi business per day.

However, Imalwa has labelled this explanation “wholly inadequate” and “internally inconsistent”.

Financial analysis of Kambahe’s bank records also fuelled suspicion. Despite his claimed income, his account saw cash deposits exceeding N$50 000 between 4 and 31 December 2025 alone.

Imalwa contends these are “unexplained assets” and the proceeds of unlawful activities, specifically drug dealing and money laundering.

She argues that the preservation order is a “critical step” in ensuring Kambahe cannot “alienate or dissipate” the funds while the state prepares a formal forfeiture application.

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the property is the proceeds of unlawful activities,” Imalwa states in the affidavit, citing Kambahe’s repeated arrests and prior convictions for drug-related offenses.

According to a supporting affidavit of police sergeant Ndinehafo Mbahono, Kambahe’s financial affairs appeared suspicious, given the large deposit made into his account despite his unemployed status.

“Furthermore, deposits were in rounded amounts, a pattern consistent with the modus operadi of drug dealers, who typically operate a cash intensive business,” she says.

According to her, “Mr Kambahe is a known drug dealer, repeatedly arrested for related offences, including Kamanjab CR 10/08/2016,” Mbahono says.

She says this case was set for trial on 22 June.

She adds that Kambahe was also convicted in a 2020 case.

“Given Mr Kambahe’s records of drug offences, his properties are believed to be proceeds of drug sales.”

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