By Chrispin Inambao WINDHOEK Though its detractors are adamant it targets smaller fry by avoiding bigger fish, the ACC recently ensnared a sleazy official in the Ministry of Home Affairs who, in tandem with a “pastor”, stands accused of selling national documents to Angolans. In a scheme seemingly engineered with precision, the two suspects stand accused of using the church’s sanctity to conduct what is tantamount to self-enrichment. This unholy alliance which possibly resulted in several Angolan nationals buying Namibian birth certificates and other national documents took place in the small town of Rehoboth where an Anglican “pastor” allegedly sold baptismal certificates to Angolan nationals. Once in possession of the pastoral documentation, they were directed to an uncouth Home Affairs official who bogusly issued birth certificates once his palms were also greased. The Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Paulus Noa, said one woman in the employ of the church who has been identified as a certain Julia Hamata, aged 40, was arrested and has since appeared in court. She was released after paying bail of N$1ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000. Her accomplice in the employ of the Ministry of Home Affairs, who has been named as Samora Basson, 34, was also arrested by ACC agents and has since made a brief court appearance. He was also released after paying bail of N$2ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000. The Angolan squealed, shedding light on the magnitude of the scam after he was interrogated. He gave crucial information that exposed the duo’s racket. Though Angolan national, Matthews Twamoneni Vauteni, 18, swore he was born at Klein Aub, he appeared not to have a clue where his purported birthplace was. “After he was interrogated, he admitted he was born in Angola,” stated the ACC chief. Since he was regarded as a high-flight risk by the prosecution, Vauteni remains in police custody pending finalization of the ongoing investigation and the criminal case. Noa said Home Affairs officials became alert following the suspect’s failure to give “convincing” answers with regard to his purported place of birth. The suspect cracked after intense questioning, leading to the arrest of the official from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the employee of the Anglican Church in Rehoboth. It has since emerged that several Angolans dubiously acquired baptismal certificates issued after the suspect from the Anglican Church was allegedly bribed. They reportedly bribed Basson who issued them with birth certificates enabling them to secure IDs and other documents. Noa says more Angolans seem to have illegally acquired national documents in a similar manner, but he has warned he would unleash his wrath and would not spare people using the cover of religious institutions to perpetrate criminal activity. At this stage, the investigators are trying to ascertain whether Hamata acted alone or forged the pastor’s signature which appears on the baptismal certificates, because the pastor in question, who has been posted to a parish in the Ohangwena, swears he had no hand in the matter. “We are still looking for the pastor to give us his side of the story,” said the ACC chief. Complaints regarding a wide array of suspected sleaze continue to stream in to the ACC offices with its investigators’ case loads growing thicker with each passing day.