Namibia’s Ombudsman Basilius Dyakugha has declined to investigate a complaint on the ‘farmgate’ saga submitted by the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) last week, stating that it falls outside his mandate.

NEFF lodged a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman following reports by various media institutions in Namibia and South Africa that President Hage Geingob allegedly helped South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the saga of alleged theft on his farm by Namibians.

Speaking at a press conference in Windhoek on Tuesday, Dyakugha said: “The mandate of the Ombudsman in terms of the Namibian Constitution and the enabling legislation is generally based on three pillars; to investigate violations of human rights, maladministration and protection of the environment in the country, and cannot act beyond the statutory powers.”

The Office of the Ombudsman should be one of the last defence available to citizens against the bureaucratic processes in public offices, he noted.

“We encourage complainants to first approach the relevant institutions which they are accusing or complaining about and try to get a solution to their complaints. Only when they have exhausted the available internal procedures, should they approach our office in case of an unsatisfactory response,” he said.

According to Dyakugha, the heading and wording of NEFF’s complaint indicates the nature of a criminal matter and also the fact that the area of the jurisdiction where such an alleged criminal matter happened is in a foreign sovereign country.

The party wanted the Namibian Head of State investigated for “unlawful conduct and concealing the act of money laundering, theft of money at the farmhouse of the South African President”.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency