Geingos Smells A Rat

PLEASE allow me to air my views in your paper about the poison pen report of Tangeni Amupadhi of The Namibian on the issue of a man reportedly having gone missing from the Tsumeb Otavi farming area on 6 May 2003.

His innuendos need to countered by facts as follows: On 5 May 2003, a stranger came to my farm. I inquired what I could do for him.He answered that he was going to the neighbouring farm.I asked him further if he worked there.He replied that he did not work but his son and family worked for Mr Oeder.Thereafter, he left in the direction of the Oeder farm.After he walked for about one and a half kilometres, I decided to give him a lift to the border fence.When I gave him the lift, I was accompanied by a young lady and a young man.We dropped him off at the border fence and saw him cross the fence.That has been the extent of our contact with the stranger.What happened after 5 May, I don’t know because on 6 May I left for Windhoek very early morning to carry out my engagements there that I can fully account for.I don’t know what Amupadhi is up to.His write up in the newspaper smells of political witchhunt and a political smear campaign.It is somehow not surprising though.Consider the fact that Amupadhi avoided reporting that the police had been to the farm a number of times and had searched the farm a number of times during May 2003 and thereabouts.He was given that information last year but he chose not to report about it.As regards the search, the 2004 search was not the first.Last year in May after the man was reported to have gone missing, I advised my farm manager to contact the police and let the relatives be in the company of the police instead of them searching for the man alone.The police conducted the search as many times as they wished.The gate was opened for them every time they asked to enter the farm.Amupadhi was also told by Markus, one of the employees at the farm, in the presence of other people, that the stranger was given a lift to the border fence and had left the farm.But Amupadhi chose not to report about this fact.Instead he only talks about the footprints disappearing on the Geingob farm! Does one smell a rat in his reporting or is this what he calls investigative reporting? I wonder!Loine Geingos Via e-mailNote: Thank you Mrs Geingos for finally responding to the story regarding Christiaan Xamseb’s disappearance.We have waited for nearly a year, in vain, to hear from you on this mystery.Of the information carried in at least three articles written about Xamseb’s disappearance, the only voice missing is yours and only because, after several attempts to talk to you, you preferred to ignore messages left with your farm manager, at your house in Windhoek, on your cellphone here and in the US, among others Your have also not lived up to your promise of making time to give us comment.But that is besides the point.The socalled facts you claim have been ignored in the articles have, indeed, all been reported, including that the neighbouring farmer Oeder was said to be the last person seen with the pensioner and the Police searches of your farm, which revealed that Mr Xamseb’s tracks ended there.If you ‘smell a rat’, it could be somewhere other than in the reports published in The Namibian so far.I hope the family of Xamseb will soon get closure on the disappearance of their loved one.- Tangeni AmupadhiI inquired what I could do for him.He answered that he was going to the neighbouring farm.I asked him further if he worked there.He replied that he did not work but his son and family worked for Mr Oeder.Thereafter, he left in the direction of the Oeder farm.After he walked for about one and a half kilometres, I decided to give him a lift to the border fence.When I gave him the lift, I was accompanied by a young lady and a young man.We dropped him off at the border fence and saw him cross the fence.That has been the extent of our contact with the stranger.What happened after 5 May, I don’t know because on 6 May I left for Windhoek very early morning to carry out my engagements there that I can fully account for.I don’t know what Amupadhi is up to.His write up in the newspaper smells of political witchhunt and a political smear campaign.It is somehow not surprising though.Consider the fact that Amupadhi avoided reporting that the police had been to the farm a number of times and had searched the farm a number of times during May 2003 and thereabouts.He was given that information last year but he chose not to report about it.As regards the search, the 2004 search was not the first.Last year in May after the man was reported to have gone missing, I advised my farm manager to contact the police and let the relatives be in the company of the police instead of them searching for the man alone.The police conducted the search as many times as they wished.The gate was opened for them every time they asked to enter the farm.Amupadhi was also told by Markus, one of the employees at the farm, in the presence of other people, that the stranger was given a lift to the border fence and had left the farm.But Amupadhi chose not to report about this fact.Instead he only talks about the footprints disappearing on the Geingob farm! Does one smell a rat in his reporting or is this what he calls investigative reporting? I wonder!Loine Geingos Via e-mailNote: Thank you Mrs Geingos for finally responding to the story regarding Christiaan Xamseb’s disappearance.We have waited for nearly a year, in vain, to hear from you on this mystery.Of the information carried in at least three articles written about Xamseb’s disappearance, the only voice missing is yours and only because, after several attempts to talk to you, you preferred to ignore messages left with your farm manager, at your house in Windhoek, on your cellphone here and in the US, among others Your have also not lived up to your promise of making time to give us comment.But that is besides the point.The socalled facts you claim have been ignored in the articles have, indeed, all been reported, including that the neighbouring farmer Oeder was said to be the last person seen with the pensioner and the Police searches of your farm, which revealed that Mr Xamseb’s tracks ended there.If you ‘smell a rat’, it could be somewhere other than in the reports published in The Namibian so far.I hope the family of Xamseb will soon get closure on the disappearance of their loved one.- Tangeni Amupadhi