ACC arrests LPM political leaders for corruption
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday arrested several officials of the Landless People's Movement-led Karasburg town council, including the mayor, on charges of corruption.
The arrests have been confirmed by the ACC spokesperson Josefina Nghituwamata, who said officials were nabbed as a result of an operation conducted by the agency. The accused are expected to appear in court this morning.
“I hereby confirm the arrest of three Karasburg town council members, two council members and one employee in connection with an alleged case of corruption that is being investigated by the ACC. We are unable to provide many details about the arrest,” she said.
This comes amid cries of foul play from the Landless People's Movement (LPM), which claimed that these arrests are part of a wider witch-hunt against the party, while other allegedly corrupt councils go untouched.
Why only us?
In a statement released immediately following the arrests, the LPM launched a scathing attack on Erastus Utoni, the minister of urban and rural development, saying he is using the ACC to bully the party.
“These charges - which are illegal appointments and changing of bank signatories - are attempts to create a witch-hunt, and scare tactics. [It is] at best an administrative issue that has been [blown] massively out of proportion as this is in regard to when the council suspended a portfolio and the acting [official] needed to have access. This is an administrative issue that doesn’t call for the ACC.”
LPM spokesperson Lifalazi Simataa also accused Swapo of using its 'moral compass' in a haphazard manner, allegedly ignoring corruption at other councils, such as Karibib and Ongwediva.
“When there is clear corrupt and ongoing activities done by members of Swapo who are councillors, there is not even a written warning assigned to them. However, when there is an administrative issue in Karasburg, Utoni does not attempt to hide his bias and discriminatory mind-set and throws everything but the kitchen sink at the LPM-led council,” he said.
Swapo’s ‘lapdogs’
LPM also questioned why the ACC was quiet when N$10 million reportedly went missing at the same Karasburg town council under its previous leadership.
“The ACC has shown that they are the lapdogs of Swapo, because when the former Karasburg CEO was implicated in N$10 million going missing in the council, the same lapdogs expressed that the millions of dollars was an internal [matter],” Simataa said.
The party stressed that it will be fighting the charges and already has a legal team attending to the matter.
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The arrests have been confirmed by the ACC spokesperson Josefina Nghituwamata, who said officials were nabbed as a result of an operation conducted by the agency. The accused are expected to appear in court this morning.
“I hereby confirm the arrest of three Karasburg town council members, two council members and one employee in connection with an alleged case of corruption that is being investigated by the ACC. We are unable to provide many details about the arrest,” she said.
This comes amid cries of foul play from the Landless People's Movement (LPM), which claimed that these arrests are part of a wider witch-hunt against the party, while other allegedly corrupt councils go untouched.
Why only us?
In a statement released immediately following the arrests, the LPM launched a scathing attack on Erastus Utoni, the minister of urban and rural development, saying he is using the ACC to bully the party.
“These charges - which are illegal appointments and changing of bank signatories - are attempts to create a witch-hunt, and scare tactics. [It is] at best an administrative issue that has been [blown] massively out of proportion as this is in regard to when the council suspended a portfolio and the acting [official] needed to have access. This is an administrative issue that doesn’t call for the ACC.”
LPM spokesperson Lifalazi Simataa also accused Swapo of using its 'moral compass' in a haphazard manner, allegedly ignoring corruption at other councils, such as Karibib and Ongwediva.
“When there is clear corrupt and ongoing activities done by members of Swapo who are councillors, there is not even a written warning assigned to them. However, when there is an administrative issue in Karasburg, Utoni does not attempt to hide his bias and discriminatory mind-set and throws everything but the kitchen sink at the LPM-led council,” he said.
Swapo’s ‘lapdogs’
LPM also questioned why the ACC was quiet when N$10 million reportedly went missing at the same Karasburg town council under its previous leadership.
“The ACC has shown that they are the lapdogs of Swapo, because when the former Karasburg CEO was implicated in N$10 million going missing in the council, the same lapdogs expressed that the millions of dollars was an internal [matter],” Simataa said.
The party stressed that it will be fighting the charges and already has a legal team attending to the matter.
[email protected]
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