Renthia Kaimbi
A document detailing 12 international trips allegedly undertaken by former Windhoek mayor Ndeshihafela Larandja and amounting to nearly N$800 000 has ignited a dispute over institutional ethics and transparency.
The spreadsheet seen by the Windhoek Observer, places the alleged cost of Larandja’s international travel during her one year tenure as mayor at N$792,601.27, with destinations including Singapore, China, Austria, Colombia, Eswatini, Mozambique and Russia.
Larandja, who was approached by the Windhoek Observer for comment on the alleged expenditure and the benefits derived from the trips, instead questioned why the document singled her out and accused unnamed individuals of attempting to damage both her reputation and that of the municipality.
She also suggested that the disclosure was linked to internal political and administrative infighting at the municipality.
“So, uh, eish! I don’t know why you are trying to be part of this or to be used by someone who is really, really destroying the institution,” Larandja said.
She argued that the document presents an incomplete picture because mayors do not travel alone, with other councillors or officials often forming part of official delegations.
Larandja said she intended to invoke what she referred to as “Code 5” to obtain information on the travel undertaken by those who accompanied her, including their subsistence and travel allowances.
“And this will also end up now, you being pursued that…this is not a threat because this information, the way it was brought to you, it was not actually brought in the correct manner. Already it is showing that someone…it is only one person targeted and everyone knows that a mayor does not travel alone,” she said.
According to Larandja, the information should not be limited to her tenure, but should extend to other mayors and officials who travelled on behalf of the council over the past five years.
“For the last five years, I have been there in the council and I was the last mayor, so it’s good to say that for the last five years, the information should be disclosed so that it reaches the level of the minister,” she said.
Larandja maintained that, as an elected councillor, she has the right to access the information and cannot be prevented from requesting it.
She said the records would ultimately provide a fuller picture of how official travel is undertaken and funded at the municipality.
“That will now come to you so you are satisfied that this is what is happening at City of Windhoek when we say people are traveling,” she said.
Larandja also challenged the Windhoek Observer over its decision to report on the leaked document, arguing that publishing information about her alone would contribute to the infighting she alleged was taking place within the council.
“No, you are fueling because how it appears, you can already see that this is a mayor targeted, who is not the first mayor… If you are an ethical journalist, looking at that table… just go ahead but the other week, you have to publish the other information including everyone else,” she said.
The City of Windhoek, meanwhile, has distanced itself from the spreadsheet and declined to confirm either the trips or the amounts reflected in it.
The council’s spokesperson Harold Akwenye acknowledged receiving the document but could not establish whether it accurately reflected Larandja’s travel history.
“We acknowledge receipt of the schedule/document you provided. However, I am unable to confirm whether the former Mayor of the City of Windhoek, Cllr Larandja, undertook the trips listed in the document, nor can I verify the specific amounts reflected therein,” Akwenye said.
He explained that records relating to individual travel schedules, subsistence and travel expenditure are maintained through the municipality’s administrative and financial systems and are subject to confidentiality requirements.
“Accordingly, I would not be able to confirm that the document accurately reflects the former mayor’s travel schedule or the associated S&T expenditure,” he said.
Akwenye said anyone seeking official verification of the records would have to submit a formal written request to the municipality’s chief executive officer Moses Matyayi, which would then be processed in accordance with its procedures and applicable confidentiality requirements.
The controversy surrounding the leaked schedule comes in the wake of a formal letter dated 5 August 2026, in which three Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) councillors Jesaya Ikali, Werner-Meck Tjihuiko and Larandja raised concerns regarding the review of delegated powers relating to official travel under Council Resolution 400/11/2008 and Management Committee Resolution (06) of 7 April 2021.
The councillors had requested the minister of urban and rural development, James Sankwasa, to intervene, citing a lack of oversight and accountability regarding official trips.
However, in a subsequent letter dated 9 September 2026, the same councillors issued an unreserved apology to Matyayi.
In the retraction, the councillors acknowledged that they “incorrectly stated and lied” that he had travelled to Colombia, that the City of Windhoek had paid N$300 000 for his travel to Harvard University and that they learned through social media that Matyayi had been out of the country for more than two weeks.
“We acknowledge that these statements were made without adequate verification and regret any embarrassment, reputational harm, distress, or inconvenience that may have been caused to you personally, your office, and the City of Windhoek council as a result of the publication,” they jointly stated.
