Kavango West governor Verna Sinimbo has denied claims that money stolen from her home was intended for a community borehole, following a suspect’s court appearance.
She has, however, confirmed that money was stolen from her parents’ shebeen in Simwege village, about 40km from Mururani Gate on the way to Rundu, on 3 January.
Andreas Mungongi (22), who is accused of breaking into Sinimbo’s house, appeared in the Rundu Magistrate’s Court on charges of stealing perfume and money meant for a community borehole.
Soon afterwards, he allegedly also broke into her parents’ shebeen and stole N$1 000, among other items.
Mungongi was arrested on 8 January at Gobabis and has been denied bail due to the seriousness of the offence.
The matter was postponed to 9 April.
When a report of the court appearance surfaced on The Namibian’s social media platforms on Tuesday, Sinombo approached the media demanding that it be taken down, saying the Namibia Press Agency (Nampa) had not approached her for comment.
The Namibian also reached out to Sinimbo for comment on the incident on Monday. She responded the following day.
Despite the case being in court, Sinombo told The Namibian that she had not reported that money belonging to the community was stolen during the theft.
“As a governor, I do not handle money from the government. I don’t even know if they know the budget of the governor.
“We don’t even get money for boreholes. The police know exactly what was lost,” she said.
Sinimbo said the only people who lost money were her parents, from whom around N$1 000 was stolen, along with items worth less than N$10 000.
“Some items were stolen from my house, but less than N$10 in cash. I reported this, and I’m sure that nowhere in the police docket does it say I reported any lost money,” she said.
Sinimbo said she wants to start her year of serving the region on a good note.
“I engaged the reporter from Nampa on Tuesday morning after somebody brought me the story. It seems that she got her [incorrect] information from the prosecutor. I was shocked and surprised,” she said.
Sinimbo described the report as an attempt to tarnish her reputation.
Efforts to get hold of deputy police commissioner Abner Agas, to whom Sinimbo reported the incident, were not successful, as he did not respond to calls or text messages.
National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi on Wednesday confirmed the arrest.
“Yes, the incident is confirmed and now a case is before court. The charges are housebreaking with intent to steal and theft,” she said.
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