Police to search Geingob farm

POLICE will comb the farm of former Prime Minister Hage Geingob and those of his neighbours in the Tsumeb district in a bid to learn the fate of a pensioner who disappeared almost eight months ago.

Chief Inspector Angula Amulungu said the Tsumeb Police “just need manpower” to conduct a thorough search for Christiaan ‘Krisjan’ Xamseb (63). “If they don’t find anything which suggests what happened to the person, they [Tsumeb Police] will write to the magistrate to declare the person either dead or unable to be found,” said Amulungu.Police say Xamseb went missing on May 6 last year, a day after the ex-Prime Minister’s wife, Loine Geingos, accused the pensioner of trespassing and forced him to quit the farm.At the time of the confrontation with Geingos, Xamseb was close to his home on a farm north of Tsobis, the Geingob property, according to Markus Gorasab, a worker on the Geingob farm.The Police have said they followed his footprints from a nearby farm to Geingob’s farm where the trail abruptly ended.According to the Police, Xamseb was seen on May 6 on a neighbouring farm owned by Karl Oeder, who gave the pensioner a lift to the main road.Oeder has declined to speak to the media, apart from saying there were “terrible rumours” about Xamseb’s disappearance.In an interview last August, Gorasab said he was certain Xamseb was on the farm on a Tuesday, May 5 – although last year May 5 fell on a Monday.The family have accused the Police of being reluctant to pursue the case immediately after he disappeared.They also say the Police declined an offer from local residents to assist the search.Xamseb’s family also said Police did not bother to announce his disappearance until at least four months after he had been reported missing, unlike the usual practice of alerting the public immediately that someone had disappeared.Police called for help via the media only in September when The Namibian first made inquiries about Xamseb’s disappearance.Stephanus Xamseb, the missing man’s younger brother, said last month the family had heard nothing about him from the Police or local residents.The family fear the worst.The former Prime Minister and his wife have yet to return calls left at their residences and on their cellular phones in Namibia, as well as at his office in Washington D.C., where they now live.”If they don’t find anything which suggests what happened to the person, they [Tsumeb Police] will write to the magistrate to declare the person either dead or unable to be found,” said Amulungu. Police say Xamseb went missing on May 6 last year, a day after the ex-Prime Minister’s wife, Loine Geingos, accused the pensioner of trespassing and forced him to quit the farm. At the time of the confrontation with Geingos, Xamseb was close to his home on a farm north of Tsobis, the Geingob property, according to Markus Gorasab, a worker on the Geingob farm. The Police have said they followed his footprints from a nearby farm to Geingob’s farm where the trail abruptly ended. According to the Police, Xamseb was seen on May 6 on a neighbouring farm owned by Karl Oeder, who gave the pensioner a lift to the main road. Oeder has declined to speak to the media, apart from saying there were “terrible rumours” about Xamseb’s disappearance. In an interview last August, Gorasab said he was certain Xamseb was on the farm on a Tuesday, May 5 – although last year May 5 fell on a Monday. The family have accused the Police of being reluctant to pursue the case immediately after he disappeared. They also say the Police declined an offer from local residents to assist the search. Xamseb’s family also said Police did not bother to announce his disappearance until at least four months after he had been reported missing, unlike the usual practice of alerting the public immediately that someone had disappeared. Police called for help via the media only in September when The Namibian first made inquiries about Xamseb’s disappearance. Stephanus Xamseb, the missing man’s younger brother, said last month the family had heard nothing about him from the Police or local residents. The family fear the worst. The former Prime Minister and his wife have yet to return calls left at their residences and on their cellular phones in Namibia, as well as at his office in Washington D.C., where they now live.