Allexer Namundjembo
The house of convicted pastor of the Mennonite Church, Pedro Marcelino Moussongela, in Eembidi village in the Ondobe constituency of the Ohangwena region has been put up for sale for N$500 000.
Moussongela was convicted of three counts of fraud, forgery and uttering, and four counts of employing foreign nationals without work permits at his Mennonite community school at Omafo village.
For each of the three fraud counts, he received a sentence of three years in prison, to serve those terms concurrently.
The court sentenced him to either pay a fine of N$4 000 or serve 16 months imprisonment on each of the four counts of illegally employing foreigners.
If he did not pay those fines, the four jail terms of 16 months each would run consecutively to the sentences imposed on the three fraud charges.
Risto Shipanga of Mansion Master Properties Namibia has now put Moussongela’s house in Eembidi up for sale.
The reason for selling the house given in the advert is because the owners are relocating.
The advert posted on social media by Shipanga boasts three existing buildings, 6 bedrooms, each with a shower and toilet, 2 visitor toilets, three garages, an uncompleted swimming pool and 1 solar geyser.
The Communal Land Reform Act (2002) allows Namibian citizens who are members of a community or have obtained permission from the relevant traditional authority to acquire land, but it’s unclear how the estate agent determined the price for the house.
The process involves submitting an application to the traditional authority, which grants land use rights for farming, residential, or other community-approved purposes.
A small administrative fee typically covers the cost of acquiring communal land, and the traditional authority sets the lease fees for agricultural use.
In Namibia, the traditional authority retains control over communal land, prohibiting its sale and requiring their approval for any transfer or lease.
Individuals only acquire rights to use the land, not ownership.
Shipanga declined to comment on the matter, saying that they don’t “really deal with journalists”.
He also declined to confirm whether the house still belongs to Moussongela.
“I can’t comment on that, and you can just find out from the ground. Go and ask. The house is there. The owners are there. Instead of calling, just go and ask. I just posted the house online, and we don’t answer to journalists or whatsoever,’’ he said.
He further declined to give the contact details of the owner of the house.
The Oukwanyama Traditional Authority spokesperson Andrew Naikau has said the Traditional Authority was never consulted regarding the sale of a house.
Naikaku said, that despite not being consulted, it is not in accordance with the law to sell a house located in the communal land area.
“It is the first time I am hearing about that. We have no knowledge about that house. Houses are not allowed to be sold as they are on communal land, which falls under the traditional authority, he said.
