Namibian Ex-ECN boss charged with fraud

Ex-ECN boss charged with fraud

By: BRIGITTE WEIDLICH

THE former Director of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) and two others have been summonsed to appear in court next month on a charge of alleged election fraud.

It allegedly relates to preparations in February last year for the municipal election in the newly proclaimed town of Omuthiya.
Fillemon Kanime only received his summons at around 15h00 yesterday, although a local weekly paper reported on the matter on Friday already.

“I only heard that I am to be charged from other people who read it in that paper,” Kanime told The Namibian on Saturday, when approached for comment.
“If you find a copy of the summons with the charges, please get me one, I am interested to know what the charges are,” he said.
Yesterday afternoon, Kanime told The Namibian that a Police officer had hand-delivered the summons to his house.
Kanime was put on “special leave” in March 2008 while his deputy, Ananias Elago, Chief Control Officer Hesekiel Shigwedha and Chief System Administrator Nicodemus Mingelius were suspended for several months in the aftermath of the Omuthiya election.
The municipal election was scheduled for February 29 2008, but was called off at the last minute amidst accusations of inefficiency, questions of loyalty and claims of political knives sharpened.
Residents could only vote for their town councillors in September 2008. In February last year violence had erupted around political rallies held by the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) during the election campaign.
Swapo members and supporters had clashed with RDP supporters.
One female Police officer was stabbed with a knife and wounded while another person was stabbed to death at the entrance to a butchery at Omuthiya belonging to Justice Minister Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana. Swapo held two rallies on the premises of that butchery in February 2008.
The other two accused are Magnus Nangombe (Accused No 1), who allegedly appeared fraudulently on the voters’ roll for Omuthiya, and Nico Mingelius (Accused No 2). They are both accused of having allegedly “forged an application for registration as a voter … on Form 2004305280 dated February 6 2008,” according to the summons seen by The Namibian.
Kanime was accused of “wrongfully, falsely and with intend to defraud, giving out and pretending to the Electoral Commission and/or Government that Accused No 1 (Nangombe) was on February 6 2008 lawfully and properly registered at Omuthiya for the election”.
Nangombe and Mingelius are also charged on the same count.
All three must appear in the Windhoek Regional Court on Friday, June 5.
Nangombe, who is the President of the Namibia Bus and Taxi Association (Nabta), on Saturday said he had not received the summons yet and was only informed by Mingelius about the matter.
“I asked him to fax me a copy to the Nabta office, but I am in the North for the weekend to attend a family funeral,” Nangombe told The Namibian.
Mingelius said he received his summons on Thursday already.
“My suspension was lifted around July 2008 and I returned to work.” According to sources, all other suspended employees had their suspension lifted around the same time. No disciplinary hearings were conducted, a source close to the ECN said.
Nangombe is an RDP member and his party registered complaints with regard to irregularities after the Omuthiya voters’ roll was made public.
Nangombe was listed as RDP candidate for the Omuthiya town council.
The ECN scrapped his name from the list after Swapo claimed Kanime had smuggled Nangombe onto the voters’ roll, as he allegedly registered after the official cut-off date.
Kanime hit back by claiming that he did not know how Swapo had got hold of the list of candidates but he was sure that Nangombe had registered in time.
Swapo objected to the presence of Nangombe’s name together with 11 others, while the RDP had pointed out that 54 names of people who did not live in the constituency were listed on the voters’ roll.
Kanime’s ‘special leave’ lasted until his term of office ended September 2008. It was his second five-year contract as ECN Director. Shortly afterwards he resigned as Swapo party member and joined the RDP.
In November 2007 already, the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) had called on Kanime to resign as Elections Director because of what they called his “dubious conduct” in registering the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) as a political party.