Meatco sues suspended executive for N$6.1 million

Meatco is suing its suspended executive, Patrick Liebenberg, to recover more than N$6.1 million he is alleged to have misappropriated at the state-owned company.

The High Court lawsuit claims Liebenberg “wrongfully, unlawfully and fraudulently” misappropriated N$6 161 657 between 2024 and 2025.

The company argues that Liebenberg breached the fiduciary duties owed to his employer by failing to safeguard Meatco’s funds and assets.

According to a summons issued on 6 March, Meatco is demanding Liebenberg pay back the full amount, plus interest at 20% per year and legal costs.

The civil claim comes amid a broader internal disciplinary process in which the former acting chief executive faces 26 charges, including fraud, forgery and sabotage linked to missing cattle and alleged financial irregularities at the company.

Namibian Sun understands the company deliberately chose the court route to mitigate its losses while continuing with the disciplinary proceedings at the same time.

Liebenberg has 10 days after service of the summons to indicate whether he intends to defend the civil claim. Meatco is represented by lawyer Norman Tjombe.

N$1.9 million allegedly diverted

Internal disciplinary documents allege that on 28 February 2025, Liebenberg misappropriated about N$1.9 million that had been earmarked to pay cattle producers during permit days, The Namibian reported earlier this week.

According to the document issued by current interim Meatco chief executive Albertus Aochamub, Liebenberg allegedly failed to return the money to Meatco and instead falsely recorded that it had been handed to a colleague, livestock technical adviser Ellis Mbuende.

The charges further accuse him of falsifying livestock transaction records and concealing key information from management.

Missing cattle scandal

The disciplinary case is also tied to the disappearance of about 900 cattle belonging to Meatco, which were placed under the care of a contracted feedlot operator, Linden Beef CC.

Meatco alleges that Liebenberg instructed junior employees to move 517 cattle between feedlots during an audit stock count in January 2025, allegedly to mislead auditors about the actual number of animals under the company’s control.

The alleged transfer took place from the Annasruh feedlot to the Linden Beef feedlot during an ongoing audit of biological assets, which the disciplinary document describes as "economic sabotage".

Investigators further accuse Liebenberg of obstructing investigations and instructing employees not to disclose certain information to police regarding the missing livestock.

Feedlot contract controversy

At the centre of the controversy is a feeding contract between Meatco and Linden Beef CC, a company owned by businessman David van der Linden.

The feedlot arrangement allowed Linden Beef to collect cattle from communal farmers south of the veterinary cordon fence and feed them before slaughter.

Van der Linden himself made headlines last year after being arrested in connection with a N$52 million cannabis plantation discovered on Farm Eendrag between Hochfeld and Osire in the Khomas region.

The contract and the handling of livestock under the arrangement have drawn scrutiny after hundreds of cattle could not be accounted for during stock checks.