Mennonite Brothers absolve Moussongela

An apparent internal investigation has exonerated self-styled pastor Pedro Marcelino Moussongela, the founder of the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church in Namibia, from allegedly impregnating at least six female members of his church and another gullible woman.
Two members of the mission, the Namibian Petrus Titus Shimbango and Zimbabwean Ordious Chibalala, said in a media statement that the church was “highly surprised” by the allegations made in an article in the Namibian Sun of 31 March and decided to do “a thorough internal investigation”.
“The church council also decided to investigate using a slow but sure strategy regarding the impregnation allegations. This strategy was used to make sure that in case of a denial or cover-up on the part of the impregnated, such denial or cover-up will be discovered through the used strategy. A non-church member was also involved in the investigation,” the two said.
They said the investigation was fair and found Moussongela not guilty. According to them, the article was therefore both false and malicious, and they demanded an apology from the newspaper.
“The publicity has not only destroyed the reputation of the person of Pedro Moussongela and that of the church, but it has the potential, if not immediately corrected, to endanger the personal security of the church leaders as a whole,” they wrote.
They said the article came not long after a certain pastor – not of the Mennonite Brothers – had confessed to have impregnated women congregants.
Shimbango and Chibalala added that Moussongela is not a pastor but is in fact a missionary of the Mennonites.
Moussongela is currently in jail awaiting trial on various charges of human trafficking, rape, assault by threat and incest.

Structures of the church

Mennonite pastors Garry Prieb and Victor Wiens from the USA and Canada, who visited the Mennonite Brethren Community School at Omafo in April, after their trip enquired about the structures of the church.
Prieb in particular, through correspondence with a church member, wanted to know where the seven congregations, one elder’s centre and one orphanage that they had been told of were, implying that there are no church structures.
Prieb also asked about the 300 orphans he had been led to believe were at the orphanage, since only 30 were accounted for.
Shimbango on Wednesday said only two congregations at Omafo and Engela remained. The others dissolved due to conflict in the church, he said.
He said the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare declined their application to register an orphanage because the site for this proposed institution “was too close to the Angolan border” and because of the criminal charges against Moussongela.
Shimbango said an elders’ centre is still to be established but added that the mission is running a feeding programme for the elderly at Embidi in the Ohangwena Region, which is where Moussongela during his bail hearing in February said he owns a villa or mansion.
Shimbango acknowledged that the church was not registered with either the Ministry of Trade and Industry or the Ministry of Health and Social Services. He, however, said it is a registered member of the Association of Charismatic Churches in Namibia (ACPCN).
He also said although there were no church serves conducted from 2013 to 2015, a church council was elected at Engela in January last year. The council members - Shimbango, Chibalala, Veronica Nghikumwa, Freddie Insundaka and an elder whose name could not be provided - did the investigation into the Namibian Sun report.
He said the investigating team had spoken to church members and other community members at Engela, and based its conclusions on these interviews.

Learners are safe

The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, which is subsidising the Mennonite schools, conducted an investigation into the school at Omafu at the beginning of July following Moussongela’s arrest.
The team had interviews with Moussoungela’s wife, Ndamona, and the acting principal, Ngoie Ngoie, who according to sources is a relative of Moussongela, as well as three of the 27 teachers, three hostel matrons and ten learners.
The school acknowledged having received ministerial subsidies for 2015 and 2016 and said learners pay N$1 000 a month for hostel accommodation and between N$250 and N$500 for tuition fees.
The ministerial team said the safety of the learners at the Omafu school was “not a source of concern” and recommended that it should be allowed to “operate as usual”.
It suggested that the school “attend to the shortcomings” and that the regional office of the ministry should monitor the situation.
The team found only 595 learners, and not 700 as Moussongela claimed at his bail hearing.
Catherine Sasman