Operi Zamuee (36) made her first appearance in the Swakopmund Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on charges of insurance fraud, alternatively theft, forgery and uttering a forged instrument, and money laundering in contravention of Section 4 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 29 of 2003.

Zamuee was arrested yesterday for allegedly defrauding an insurance company through a scheme in which she, her former husband, and others allegedly faked their deaths to claim insurance payouts worth millions of Namibian dollars. This newspaper understands that a co-accused, Mervin Kaihiva (39), appeared in the Swakopmund Magistrate’s Court last week. His case was postponed to 8 September to allow him to apply for Legal Aid; he is in custody. It is alleged that the couple took out multiple life insurance and funeral policies on each other before submitting false death claims to the insurer.

The alleged scheme resulted in losses exceeding N$5 million. According to the allegations, the suspects received N$50 000 in 2020 after submitting a fraudulent claim. However, the individual whose identity was allegedly used in the claim was later listed as a beneficiary on another policy in 2025. It is further alleged that, in 2021, the suspects claimed N$3 million from the wife’s life insurance policy and a further N$2 million from another life insurance policy. In 2025, they allegedly claimed or received N$72 000 from a funeral policy. In 2026, they allegedly submitted a claim of N$1.8 million from a life insurance policy.

Zamuee remains in custody.

By Sharlien Tjambari