Four employees at the Walvis Bay Engine One Stop Service Station have been fired after an internal hearing found them guilty of fraudulent fuel transactions worth N$300,000.

The fraudulent transactions took place during the month of May.

Initially, the Engine One Stop Service Station internally charged six employees with fraud and dishonesty for facilitating fuel transactions.

The station indicated that fuel attendants and cashiers were collaborating to allow unknown trucks to fill up with diesel while charging such transactions on another client's account.

Four employees were found guilty in the hearing; one had his charges dropped, while another was not guilty.

In addition to the internal charges, the company opened a criminal case of theft against the employees, and they were arrested by police in early July.

The accused are out on bail, and they say the internal disciplinary hearing was unfair in dismissing them.

A community activist says it is unfair for the company to dismiss the workers based on findings from the hearing while the criminal case has not yet found the accused guilty.

In a statement from the company, representative Vicki van den Heever said that when any wrongdoing is discovered and it threatens livelihoods, the employer is obliged to take lawful action.

Van Den Heever says the company followed all relevant labour laws and internal procedures, and the workers were dismissed fairly.

Meanwhile, labour expert Don Mushongo told nbc News that while employees have every right to appeal, the company has done nothing wrong by dismissing the employees through an internal hearing while a criminal case is pending.