Martin Endjala
Residents in Tsumeb town are demanding the arrest of the Tsumeb constituency councillor, Gottlieb Ndjendjela.
They are claiming he is involved in the theft of drought relief, as several community members accused him of selling it to them.
Johannes Johannes, an activist for Affirmative Repositioning (AR), also called for Ndjendjela’s removal from the regional council on behalf of a resident concern group.
“With all this evidence presented by the community, why is Gotty not being arrested like others? What is the police waiting for?” he questioned.
Last month, a farmer was arrested for purchasing the stolen drought aid from the storage facility in the Oshikoto region.
The process also led to the arrest of two council officials.
The stolen drought food was valued at N$100 000.
Another community member stated that they should remove Ndjendjela because they no longer have faith in his leadership.
“Before he became councillor, Gotty was bribing us with lies, and he never fulfilled his promises. He used us so that he could come and benefit from this stealing he is doing while we, the community, are starving and suffering,” said the concerned community member.
A video clip seen by the Windhoek Observer by Tsumeb resident Angela Bisola Vaanika claims that Ndjendjela once sold her four bags of maize meal for N$40 per bag.
She also claims that Ndjendjela’s wife sold her cooking oil for N$20 per bottle.
“One day I told comrade Gotty that I don’t have food, and he told me that if I want food, I must buy it from him. He threatened me that if I told anyone, he had plenty of money to get a lawyer and would take me out of my house.
Comrade Gotty personally visited my home to sell me the 10 kg of maize meal I purchased for N$40. His wife also sold me cooking oil, and she instructed me not to tell anyone,” she said.
Vaanika added that after accusing Ndjendjela of selling her stolen drought aid, the police called her in.
She admitted that she had to lie to prevent her house from being seized.
She also disclosed that she worked for Ndjendjela’s foundation, where he used to provide cooking supplies in containers bearing official government logos, such as those for drought relief.
She said he made her remove the government logo and replace it with that of the Gotty Foundation.
Vaanika added that she provided a cooking oil container as evidence because she burned the bags according to Ndjendjela’s instructions.
Despite the concern group’s claims, Ndjendjela told the Windhoek Observer that he never entered the storage facility or even had the storage keys.
The councillor also denied selling any products to the public or individuals.
“The woman you see in the video was questioned about the accusations, but she confessed later that she was drunk, so how can such testimony be trusted? Mind you, she gave them a cooking oil container as proof, and yet the police are not arresting me,” he argued.
Ndjendjela said he will now report the accusations and the submitted container to the regional police commander, Commissioner Teopoline Nashikaku.
He believes that the concern group is being instigated by someone who is trying to harm him, and it has no connection to the actual issue of stolen drought aid.
According to Ndjendjela, investigations are still ongoing, and if the public has information to assist, the police should go to the police rather than publicly accusing people.
He claimed that he has helped many people out of his own pocket and that those attempting to tarnish his reputation have brainwashed those who are after him.
By the time this article was published, text messages and phone calls to the Oshikoto Regional Commander, Commissioner Nashikaku, regarding the matter had gone unanswered.
