KATIMA MULILO – The Kongola community has protested the provisional withdrawal of a case in which over N$4 million allegedly vanished into thin air at the Zambezi Regional Council.
Zambezi’s chief regional officer Regina Ndopu-Lubinda and other senior officials’ corruption charges were provisionally withdrawn in the Katima Mulilo Regional Court last month.
Magistrate Clara Mwilima, during their brief appearance on 9 September, informed the accused persons that their case was provisionally withdrawn because the State was not ready to proceed.
“The State is not ready to proceed. Thus, they made an application to have the matter provisionally withdrawn against all accused persons. However, once the State is ready, the accused persons will be informed when to appear before court, and in which court the matter will continue,” she stated.
Ndopu-Lubinda and her co-accused, regional director for planning and rural development Beaven Walubita, deputy director for planning and rural development Cletius Mubita, chief development planner Daniel Mbala, deputy director for administration Abraham Shikoyeni as well as chief accountant Nimrod Lichela were arrested in October last year by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
They were all charged with two counts of corruptly using the office for gratification and conspiracy to commit offences.
Walubita and Shikoyeni were facing an additional charge of corruptly giving a false document to an agent.
They have since been out on bail of N$50 000 each.
She then ordered that the bail of all six accused persons be refunded.
However, the court ruling has angered those who were supposed to benefit from the alleged missing millions.
They said the money was intended to build streets, install streetlights, de-bush the settlement area, and install sewage pipes at the sleepy settlement.
“We are six years to Vision 2030. Are we, the people of Kongola, going to achieve this when millions of dollars meant for service delivery are being squandered by a few elites at the expense of the electorates? The mission would have given jobs to the youth, and reduced unemployment. It would have brought services closer to our doorstep, but now we will forever be slaves after 34 years in our independent Namibia,” emoaned Shebo Glenn, chairperson of the aggrieved Kongola community.
More aggrieving, the community feels the accused in the corruption scandal only appeared in court ,and were released on bail.
Equally, they say within minutes, the suspects were back in offices where the corruption scandals took place without being remanded in custody for 48 hours, yet they were, given bail and told to seek legal representation later.
“Is this not a golden treatment where millions of public funds have been lost? Was this done in the best interest of public justice? Slowly, we feel that the justice system has today become a mockery because if one steals millions, he or she walks scot-free, but he who steals a goat is denied bail and remanded in custody for a prolonged period. We, the beneficiaries, have lost trust and hope in the police and the office of the prosecutor on how this case had been handled. We need nothing but the recovery of our money,” the community demanded.
“We feel that the office of the prosecutor has sold the people of Kongola to the highest bidder, as we hoped that money would be recovered through impartial courts of law, and money would come to do its intended purpose. The people of Kongola have been left in the desert to cry alone,” Glenn reacted.
Kongola is 120 kilometres from Katima Mulilo, where most residents get their basic services, making it difficult for people to travel, as many do not have any source of income due to high unemployment levels.
The community argued that despite Kongola having more than 150 war veterans, the settlement is now forgotten.
“We lost our grandfathers who went, but is this the freedom they fought for? That money intended to develop their communities is getting misused,” the community charged.
Kongola is the gateway to central Africa, bordering Zambia to the north, Botswana to the south and Angola to the northwest, making it flooded with thousands of people daily without any basic service provision.
Kongola does not have a health centre, forcing people to travel long distances to district hospitals elsewhere.
Further, Kongola has no court, no banking services and no vocational school.
The aggrieved residents said people live in darkness due to too little rural electrification.
Many have lost lives in fires caused by candles and paraffin stoves.
There are no streetlights, and major government projects that were meant to create jobs and boost local communities, such as the dilapidated crocodile farm, which cost the government over N$100 million, are abandoned.
“Many investors want to invest in Kongola, but the land is not serviced, forcing them to build on communal land. Human-wildlife conflict is high, as people fight for natural resources with wild animals. How many lives shall we lose?” Glenn asked.
He went on: “We have no Natis, and young people are forced to travel to Katima Mulilo just for a learner’s licence. These are youth who are unemployed. We need our money back so that Kongola gets to be developed and services brought closer to us so that the youth get direct and indirect employment opportunities”.
They demand the Katima regional court take the case back to court in the interest of public justice as well as of the beneficiaries that the money was intended for.
The community reminded Swapo Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah that corruption is a cancer that should be uprooted in the community, as it benefits the minority and affects the masses.
They said the same central government that gave them money to be removed from poverty is the same government that is withdrawing the case.
“We need the government, through the line ministry, to pay back the money and deal with its employees so the people of Kongola cannot suffer at the hands of a few. We don’t want Swapo results to be compromised. We request your urgent intervention in the matter,” Glenn threatened.
Part of the charges is that on 14 December 2020, the accused persons allegedly corruptly awarded a tender, valued at approximately N$4.6 million, to Denchi Consulting Engineers without following the correct procedures in terms of the Procurement Act.
The community threatened that if their pleas are not considered within 21 days from yesterday, the people of Kongola will take it to the streets and exercise Article 17 of the Supreme Law against these injustices.
-anakale@nepc.com.na