Louis Goodwill Nchindo (1941–2010) was a
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
businessman and political advisor, who rose to political prominence as managing director of
Debswana
Debswana Diamond Company Limited, or simply Debswana, is a mining company located in Botswana, and is the world's leading producer of diamonds by value. Debswana operates four diamond mines in the eastern and central parts of Botswana, as well ...
, the Botswana diamond authority.
[The rise and fall of Nchindo]
GIDEON NKALA & TSHIRELETSO MOTLOGELWA, Mmegi (Botswana). 12 February 2010. He was found dead in a rural area on the morning of 8 February 2010, having died under unknown circumstances.
[Nchindo is dead,body discovered]
GIDEON NKALA &TSHIRELETSO MOTLOGELWA. Mmegi Vol.27 No.23 , 12 February 2010.
Early life
Nchindo was born 30 November 1941 in
Tlokweng
Tlokweng is a peri-urban settlement classified as an urban village located east of the capital of Botswana, Gaborone and falling under the jurisdiction of South East District Council. It can be considered part of the conurbation of Gaborone. ...
, Botswana, and was educated in
Molepolole and
St. Joseph's College, Kgale
St. Joseph's College is a government-aided Catholic school located in Gaborone, Botswana.
Founded in 1928 by the Catholic Church, St. Joseph's College aims to provide education for Tswana people, Batswana children. As a government-aided missi ...
, Botswana.
He went on to study medicine at
University College London Medical School, but in 1964 quit the program to enroll at
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world.
With a governing body of a master and aro ...
, receiving BA degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.
[Former Debswana chief receives top honour]
Daily News (Gaboronne) 4 October 2004. As president of the university's Overseas Student Union, he became friends with a number of future Botswana notables, including later Minister of Mineral Resources and Water Affairs
David Magang[ Did De Beers cheat Botswana? – The Masire Factor]
. Sunday Standard Reporter (South Africa). 18 January 2010 and future President of Botswana
Festus Mogae
Festus Gontebanye Mogae (born 21 August 1939) is a Motswana politician and economist who served as the third President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008. He succeeded Quett Masire as President in 1998 and was re-elected in October 2004. After ten ...
.
Business leader
After working for Procter and Gamble in Caracas,
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, and southern Africa, Nchindo rose to become the managing director of Debswana, the chairman of the
Botswana Stock Exchange, Botswana head for
Barclays Bank
Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...
and resident director of
Anglo American in Botswana. Nchindo became director of the Anglo-American owned
De Beers
The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pi ...
Botswana Mining Company, which had government contracts to market all Botswana diamonds. When De Beers Botswana joining with the Botswana government to form Debswana in 1991, Nchindo became its first managing director. He also became an adviser to the President of Botswana and an influential member of the ruling
Botswana Democratic Party
The Botswana Democratic Party (Abbreviation, abbr. BDP, colloquially known as Domkrag) is a centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Botswana. From the country's 1965 Bechuanaland general election, inaugural election in 1965 until th ...
.
Scandal and death
Nchindo presided over a successful period at Debswana, but eventually fell out with the president, who in 2004 refused to renew his employment. Following his September 2004 retirement, Nchindo was awarded Botswana's highest honor, the Presidential Order of Honour Award, by Former President of the Botswana Festus Mogae during the country's Independence Day celebrations, although he did not attend to ceremony.
Prior to this, Nchindo had also gained press attention when he fired 461 Debswana workers for engaging in industrial action.
In 2008
Gaborone
Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...
Chief Magistrate
Lot Moroka brought corruption charges against Nchindo, which were ongoing at the time of his death.
Botswana: Mogae Versus Nchindo
The Voice (Francistown). 22 January 2008 During this trial, he revealed that he had arranged secret loans from DeBeers to former President Quett Keitumile Masire, causing a political scandal.[De Beers exec facing fraud charges found dead]
BUSINESS DAY (Johannesburg), 12 February 2010.
Nchindo was last seen at a local Bottle store on the evening of 7 February in Pandamatenga. On 8 February his vehicle was found, locked, in a rural area. Thereafter his partially decomposed torso was found nearby, as well as his identification and a firearm.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nchindo, Louis Goodwill
1941 births
2010 deaths
Botswana businesspeople