WINDHOEK – A resident of Onanona village in the Ohangwena Region, Peter Nuugulu, is accusing his headman Philemon Newaya of practising corruption.
The allegations stem from a claim by Nuugulu that Newaya helped Nuugulu’s worker to cash a cheque exceeding N$15 000 that was issued by the Roads Authority (RA) compensating Nuugulu for a piece of his land.
Nuugulu told New Era he was oblivious to the goings-on at his village and it was only by fate that he discovered the alleged fraud. “My wife and I both work in Windhoek and I only found out about the matter when we went home to attend the wedding of a relative. A neighbour asked me to transport her to the Roads Authority headquarters in Embahu so she could collect her cheque,” explained Nuugulu.
He allegedly went along and upon arrival he enquired about his own cheque because the RA had already compensated both his neighbours. It was then that a site instruction list for compensation was revealed to him. Nuugulu was shocked to find the name Elina Naanda listed as the landowner and beneficiary where he expected his name to appear.
“I immediately opened a case against Elina Naanda when I discovered this because I employed her as my domestic worker. She does chores and looks after my village when we go off to work. I pay her N$ 600 a month – I even have the deposit slips to prove it,” bellowed the outraged Nuugulu.
“It was only at a later stage that I discovered the headman had been assigned the task of compiling and submitting the list of land owners, by the regional councillor. He intentionally gave a fictitious list with Naanda’s name to [RA] officers. I do not know why he did that,” charged Nuugulu. According to Nuugulu he could not reach Ohangwena Regional Governor Usko Nghaamwa by phone to immediately complain about the injustice as he had travelled to Okakarara.
Erickson Ndawanisa, the Regional Councillor for Omulonga and one of the eleven Ohangwena regional councillors, dismissed the allegations saying Nuugulu contradicted himself by saying he would not open a case against his own employee Elina Naanda.
“Nuugulu needs to be honest and transparent. We called him on the issue regarding his compensation. Not only that, Newaya and I drove to his village in an attempt to resolve the matter but he [Nuugulu] was not present and when we contacted him on his mobile phone he bluntly refused to talk to us and only instructed us to leave his place,” stated Ndawanisa.
“The contractors went from house-to-house enquiring about the owners of the area. The mix-up has little if anything to do with the headman, unless Nuugulu is insinuating Newaya is on the Roads Authority payroll,” said Ndawanisa.
According to Ndawanisa, Nuugulu told him not to intervene in the matter regarding compensation saying his attorney would handle it because he [Nuugulu] did not elect him.
He [Ndawanisa] proceeded to ask Nuugulu about whether or not he had enquired from his employee as to why she allegedly stole his money and claimed ownership of his land, to which Nuugulu replied that he would not ask Naanda about the money because he was not the one who gave her the money in the first place, according to Ndawanisa.
Ndawanisa also told New Era he called Naanda and asked why she saw it fit to take Nuugulu’s money to which she responded, ‘I have been working for Nuugulu without compensation and not only that he is my boyfriend.’
Nuugulu denied claims linking him to Naanda saying: “If we are not paying her then she should take it up with the Labour Court – Naanda, Newaya and Ndawanisa are all involved in this fraud.”
All efforts to contact Newaya and Naanda were futile as their mobile phones were switched off.
By John Travolter Matali