Former Meatco acting chief executive faces 26 charges over alleged N$5.5 million misappropriation and missing cattle

Former Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) acting chief executive Patrick Liebenberg is facing 26 disciplinary charges, including allegations that he misappropriated more than N$5.5 million.

He is also accused of fraud, forgery and sabotage linked to the 900 missing cattle at the parastatal.

According to a disciplinary notice issued by Meatco, Liebenberg, who served as executive for livestock production and procurement, allegedly misappropriated company funds meant to pay cattle producers and falsified records of livestock transactions.

“On 28 February 2025, you misappropriated or stole an amount of N$1.9 million of the funds of Meatco that were meant to pay producers at permit days, by not returning the said funds to Meatco, and instead falsely recorded that you handed the said funds to Ellis Mbuende of Meatco,” says Meatco acting chief executive Albertus Aochamub, with lawyer Norman Tjombe, in a disciplinary document. Mbuende was employed by Meatco as a livestock technical adviser during that time.

The disciplinary hearing was initiated by Aochamub, with Tjombe acting as the initiator in the proceedings.

Meatco has now filed a High Court case against Liebenberg following the internal disciplinary process.

The charges also relate to missing cattle placed under the care of Linden Beef CC, where Meatco alleges several animals could not be accounted for.

Meatco accuses Liebenberg of forging agreements, concealing information from management and instructing staff to move more than 500 cattle between feedlots during an audit, allegedly to mislead auditors.

Liebenberg has since denied his involvement in several interviews with The Namibian.

He is also accused of obstructing investigations into the missing livestock and contacting colleagues while on suspension.

Aochamub is cited in the disciplinary document as saying Meatco regards the allegations – if proven – “in a serious light and with grave concern”.

“There are several cattle of Meatco missing at the Linden Beef CC/Farm Eendrag Feedlot.

In each and every count of the charges levelled against you … you have violated the terms and conditions of your employment agreement with Meatco and the terms and conditions of your suspension from work,” Aochamub says.

He says Liebenberg instructed junior staff members of Meatco to move 517 cattle from one feedlot to another.

“In or about January 2025, specifically over the weekend of Friday, 31 January 2025, you instructed junior staff members of Meatco to move 517 cattle from the Annasruh Feedlot to Linden Beef Feedlot, while an audit stock count was underway, in a manner so as to deceive the auditors and Meatco of the actual and factual number of biological assets of Meatco at the two feedlots, thus resulting in a material misstatement of such biological assets, and you are thus guilty of sabotage,” he says in the document.

Linden Beef Feedlot is a company owned by David van der Linden, a businessman who was contracted to feed and care for the animals before slaughtering and processing.

Van der Linden made headlines in 2025 after being arrested in connection with a N$52 million cannabis plantation on Farm Eendrag between Hochfeld and Osire in the Khomas region.

According to Aochamub, Liebenberg unlawfully and wrongfully instructed an employee of the meat company not to disclose to the police all known facts regarding the loss of Meatco’s livestock.

In an interview with The Namibian yesterday, Aochamub said the disciplinary process is still ongoing.

“I can confirm that there is an internal disciplinary process underway. The parties met in November 2025 and agreed mutually to postpone the hearing to 2026,” he said.

He said the matter involves economic sabotage.
“It is an internal matter that enjoys the board’s attention since it borders on economic sabotage.

“On the reputation of Meatco, it is a work in progress and not an event.

We do what we can to restore the confidence of all stakeholders on a daily basis by dealing with issues in a transparent and honest manner,” he said.

Meanwhile, Liebenberg referred The Namibian to his lawyer.

“My lawyer has requested that I forward him your request for him to provide you with a formal response,” he says.

Questions sent to Liebenberg’s lawyers were not responded to by the time of going to print.

The matter has captured the interest of Meatco’s shareholders, with the former executive director of finance, Michael Humavindu, demanding a detailed report.

Secretary to Cabinet Emilia Mkusa previously issued an urgent letter to Meatco demanding an explanation for the missing animals.

SUSPECTED CANNABIS DEALER

Linden Beef Feedlot entered into a feeding contract with Meatco in 2023.
The company is owned by a suspected cannabis dealer, Van der Linden.

Van der Linden and his co-accused, Armand Schultz (27), a South African national and farm manager, are still in custody.

According to the contract, Van der Linden’s company would collect cattle from communal farmers in regions south of the redline.

Last month The Namibian reported that Meatco instructed Linden Beef CC to immediately halt the sale of 900 head of cattle it says were wrongfully attached during a liquidation process.

The company, through its lawyer, Tjombe, warned that it will approach the High Court on an urgent basis if the livestock is sold.

The company said the cattle belong to Meatco and can be verified through ear tag numbers and records on the Namibia Livestock Identification and Traceability System.

It demanded a written undertaking that the livestock will not be sold pending the outcome of intended court proceedings.

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