When property mogul Erastus ‘Chicco’ Shapumba approached Opuwo Town Council with a deal to buy the town’s only sporting facility, the council was convinced he was a good sport.
In 2013, Shapumba alongside the town’s management convinced council into selling the historic Newman Katuta Stadium.
In exchange, Shapumba would allegedly develop a shopping mall – a first of its kind – on the land where the stadium is situated.
The facility boasted four pavilions, two separate dressing rooms, a caretaker’s house and netball/volleyball court.
The contested land where the stadium was located is on erf 225, at the intersection of Sam Nujoma and Mbumbijazo Muharukua.
Before Shapumba could commence with what was thought of as a mega development project, a gentleman’s agreement was struck between the then council and Shapumba: The businessman would first have to build a stadium of the same quality on land allocated and identified by council.
Shapumba paid around N$1.3 million for the land. What is, however strange, is that the properties located on the land belonged to the youth and sports ministry. The ministry was never consulted when the council moved to sell the land.
However, while the councillors waited with bated breath as to when Shapumba’s project would kick off, the businessman had other ideas.
Substitution
He had sold the same stadium to a local business, Gerrit Schoeman for around N$5 million without adding any value. The council only learned about the transaction between Shapumba and Schoeman, when the latter approached them for approval of his construction plans.
When the former council approached Shapumba to find out why he failed to honour his promise, they were met with pomposity.
“He [Shapumba] told us that Katuta was his property and he could do anything with it. We asked him about the promise of a new stadium and the development he promised, but he referred us to his lawyers, saying he was not legally compelled to build an alternative stadium,” a former councillor who preferred anonymity said.
The council also sought a legal opinion to find out if the deal could be reversed.
It was too little, too late, to reverse the deal.
Technically, with the land now belonging to a new owner, it means the town is without a stadium and finds itself at the mercy of Schoeman, if ever getting a new stadium is anything to go by.
This version was corroborated by sports minister Agnes Tjongarero.
“That stadium was sold to someone [Shapumba]. That was before the time of the current council and us also here this side [ministry]. That person who bought the stadium sold it to another person,” Tjongarero confirmed.
She also conceded that the council indeed sold the ministry’s assets without its consent or knowledge. Asked if the government was going to initiate punitive measures to recuperate its loss, she said: “You can only do something about it if you have the proper papers. We’ll get all the documentation and take it from there.”
Council has also been asked by the ministry of sport to pay over the money it received from the sale of the facility.
When the stadium was sold, the ministry was headed by the late Kazenambo Kazenambo, who at the time also registered his disappointment. However, like Tjongarero, there was little he could do as the land was already in private hands.
“At the moment, the council has identified an area where the new sports stadium is to be erected. They have already done the fencing off. It is a very huge portion of land. You can even put in there four rugby fields and so on. Between ourselves and the council, we have to talk and see what is going to happen because it’s the previous council which sold it,” the politician said.
All hope, she said, is not lost.
Extra time
“A stadium will be erected whether it’s by us, whether it’s by council or combined,” she promised.
Meanwhile, Opuwo mayor Rosa Mbinge-Tjeundo registered her disappointment in how the transaction was handled.
Like many of the town’s residents, she too, was opposed to the sale. She, however, pinned blame on the government for failing to do due diligence to protect the interest of the town.
“We never wanted this to happen. But we were not in power then. It so happens that I now have to equally take blame as the current mayor. But why did the ministry of sports or local government allow this to happen? Why did they not protect the government’s structures from being sold off?” Mbinge-Tjeundo asked.
At the moment, Schoeman voluntarily agreed to fence off the identified land by council and has since donated movable pavilions.
“Of course, we didn’t expect him to move the buildings. But what about the previous pavilion structures? Those can be moved. Or the door or window frames or toilet pots from the buildings that were on the land? Those could have been relocated to the new site,” she said.
However, when they probed Schoeman, they were taken to court after council refused to approve his construction plans on the basis that the verbal agreement between council and Shapumba was not honoured.
“The court ruled that the council never sold land to Mr Schoeman. He therefore had no legal obligation to relocate the stadium as per the agreement with Mr Shapumba. So the council was directed to approve his business plans,” she lamented.
Schoeman has, in the meantime, built on the land. A new service station and warehouse stand on the land now while plans for a mall is reportedly in the works. When it is all said done, Mbinge-Tjeundo said, life must go on.
“We must accept what we cannot change. The stadium is gone. We must now look at ways on how we can build a new one from scratch, whether with the help of government, the local community or investors instead of playing the blame game,” she implored. This, she said, is an eye opener and a classic example of how wealthy land speculators approach small towns with semi-illiterate councillors, promising to invest heavily in these towns just to later leave them hanging in the air.
“Sometimes, councillors don’t even know the powers they have and are just dragged into signing some of these questionable agreements,” she
said. Schoeman, New Era understands, agreed to construct a stadium, but out of his own volition and not because he is obligated to do so.
“That has nothing to do with you. Go to the council and ask them,” was Schoeman’s brief response when questions about his questionable land deal were put to him.
Yesterday, efforts to solicit comments from Shapumba were unsuccessful and his phone went unanswered.
Shapumba did not respond to a text message left on his phone.
The stadium was named after Newman Katuta, a dazzling midfielder and one of the best to have ever graced a football pitch in Opuwo.
“He is one of the best players to ever come out of Kunene. He was a brilliant dribbler and sharpshooter, with both left and right-foot. He was excellent in dead ball situations such as penalties, freekicks or corner kicks. His impact on the game is what earned him the hero’s status and eventually have a stadium named after him in the heart of Opuwo,” Bonny Tjirundu, an ex-teammate reminisced.
Katuta died in an accident in June 1994 when a bus he and other footballers were travelling in along the Kamanjab-Omakange road experienced mechanical failure.
Katuta was the only casualty. He was 23.
-emumbuu@nepc.com.na