Pastor appears in court for assault
Allegations of assault against a pastor of the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church in Namibia had a sequel in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Pedro Marcelino Moussongela made a brief appearance on charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, read in conjunction with the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act.
The matter was postponed to 28 November 2016 for plea and trial. Moussongela, who is already free on bail, was warned to appear in court on that date.
Magistrate Ingrid Lerato Unengu warned Moussongela not to make any contact, be it directly or indirectly, with Laimi Tonata, who is the complainant in this matter.
The pastor is accused of having kidnapped his daughter and then allegedly assaulting her mother outside the NamRights offices in Windhoek.
Although the particulars of that specific incident have not yet been disclosed, there are other allegations that Moussongela had trafficked five of his own children to England.
He allegedly delegated someone to drop off three of these children, who are all under the age of 12, in London. Another allegation is that he fathered one of these children with his own daughter.
All the children have been picked up by the British police and placed in a safe house.
There are accusations that Moussongela’s is “untouchable in Namibia” as he was released on bail twice before on these serious charges. He is an Angolan citizen who grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to his testimony during the bail hearing he has been domiciled in Namibia since 1991 and is waiting for Namibian citizenship. He was first married to a Namibian woman, Linda Nangolo Nakashololo, and after her death he married another Namibian citizen.
Moussongela also testified that he has a PhD in education and ran three Mennonite private schools at Ongwediva, Omafu and Ongenga in northern Namibia with a combined value of more than N$10 million. One of the schools receives a subsidy of N$722 000 per term (or N$2 million annually) from the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture.
It is believed that the schools are also sponsored by the Mennonite Church based in the USA.
State Prosecution is led by Rowan van Wyk while Francois Bangamwabo stood in for Tuhafeni Muhongo on behalf of the accused.
FRED GOEIEMAN
Pedro Marcelino Moussongela made a brief appearance on charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, read in conjunction with the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act.
The matter was postponed to 28 November 2016 for plea and trial. Moussongela, who is already free on bail, was warned to appear in court on that date.
Magistrate Ingrid Lerato Unengu warned Moussongela not to make any contact, be it directly or indirectly, with Laimi Tonata, who is the complainant in this matter.
The pastor is accused of having kidnapped his daughter and then allegedly assaulting her mother outside the NamRights offices in Windhoek.
Although the particulars of that specific incident have not yet been disclosed, there are other allegations that Moussongela had trafficked five of his own children to England.
He allegedly delegated someone to drop off three of these children, who are all under the age of 12, in London. Another allegation is that he fathered one of these children with his own daughter.
All the children have been picked up by the British police and placed in a safe house.
There are accusations that Moussongela’s is “untouchable in Namibia” as he was released on bail twice before on these serious charges. He is an Angolan citizen who grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to his testimony during the bail hearing he has been domiciled in Namibia since 1991 and is waiting for Namibian citizenship. He was first married to a Namibian woman, Linda Nangolo Nakashololo, and after her death he married another Namibian citizen.
Moussongela also testified that he has a PhD in education and ran three Mennonite private schools at Ongwediva, Omafu and Ongenga in northern Namibia with a combined value of more than N$10 million. One of the schools receives a subsidy of N$722 000 per term (or N$2 million annually) from the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture.
It is believed that the schools are also sponsored by the Mennonite Church based in the USA.
State Prosecution is led by Rowan van Wyk while Francois Bangamwabo stood in for Tuhafeni Muhongo on behalf of the accused.
FRED GOEIEMAN
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article