The long arm of the law has not only caught up with Namibian fugitive Maria Coetzee —accused of defrauding a school of R2.8-million — she has been extradited to her home country Namibia to face the music.
Coetzee is facing 18 charges of fraud, theft and money laundering. This after allegedly stealing about N$3.8-million (R3.8-million) from Windhoek International School. She worked at the school as a finance manager. The rest of the money has since been recovered.
Repatriated to Namibia on August 29
Coetzee was repatriated from South Africa to Namibia on August 29.
“She was found extraditable by the Wynberg magistrate’s court in Cape Town in March 2024,” said the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) in a statement.
“On July 30, the Minister of Justice issued an order for her to return to Namibia.” The statement referred to South Africa’s Minister of Justice, Thembi Simelane.
The 52-year-old appeared at the Windhoek High Court on August 30. Her case was postponed to October 17 for trial.
It is alleged that Coetzee transferred the money from the school’s account into her personal accounts. This occurred between March and October 2018. She was arrested in 2019 and granted bail of R10,000 in March 2019.
NamPol said Coetzee has been on the run from Namibian authorities since 2020.
She failed to appear in court in May 2020, and a warrant for her arrest was issued. Coetzee was reported to have fled to Pretoria. She was arrested in South Africa in 2023.
Interpol services
NamPol said it uses the International Criminal Police Organisation’s (Interpol) division in Windhoek. They use it to collaborate with other police around the world to investigate crime and bring offenders to justice.
It added that its collaboration work is centred around Namibia’s areas of concern. These include wildlife crime, in particular stock theft. Also drug crimes; money laundering; firearms trafficking; and human trafficking.
