Convicted SWAPO Youth League leader receives fine, dodges 12-month jail sentence

Staff Reporter

SYLAS Tangi Mungoba, a member of Swapo’s youth league leadership recently convicted of bribery linked to an Affirmative Repositioning movement demonstration, has been sentenced to pay an effective fine of N$5,000.00.

The 36-year-old was arrested in July 2021 in connection with bribery aimed at orchestrating a demonstration by the Affirmative Repositioning movement to ensure the release of the men implicated in the Fishrot corruption scandal, one of Namibia’s biggest corruption cases.

During his trial, Mungoba refuted any involvement in requesting the AR Movement leaders, Paulus ‘Pau Pau’ Kathanga and Dimbulukeni Nauyoma, to arrange a demonstration in favour of the Fishrot accused. Instead, he asserted that he, along with Kathanga and Nauyoma, reached an agreement to launch a social media campaign. Their objective was to highlight the contrast between the denial of bail to the Fishrot accused, who are Namibian nationals, and the grant of bail to the British individual, Boulter, following his murder charge. Additionally, Mungoba disclosed that he provided N$7,500 to Kathanga to kickstart their proposed campaign.

In his testimony, Kathanga said that in 2020, Mungoba initially reached out to him regarding the Fishrot case. Furthermore, in July 2021, Mungoba contacted him once more, discussing the same issue. According to Kathanga, Mungoba informed him that the men implicated in the Fishrot case had expressed their willingness to provide a sum ranging from N$80,000 to N$90,000 to anyone involved in orchestrating demonstrations supporting their bail release. This financial offer followed an initial payment of N$10,000 to coordinate the said demonstrations.

The court determined that Mungoba had proposed a payment of N$8,000 to Kathanga, a member of Affirmative Repositioning (AR). This offer was made to encourage Kathanga to initiate a social media campaign and coordinate protests demanding the release of individuals facing charges related to the Fishrot corruption scandal.

As a result, the court ruled that he must either pay a fine of N$10,000 or face a 12-month prison sentence, with half of the fine or jail term suspended for a five-year period. Additionally, the court ordered the forfeiture of N$7,500 in cash, which Mungoba had given to Kathanga, to the state.