RedForce demands retraction after Sankwasa reportedly denies Katima contract
RedForce Debt Management has demanded a retraction and an apology from urban and rural development minister Sankwasa James Sankwasa for ‘reckless and baseless’ remarks suggesting there was never a contract between the company and the Katima Mulilo Town Council.
According to RedForce owner Selma Nangombe, the minister’s public remarks, which were shared online, have already led to “tangible and dangerous consequences".
"In one such recording, an unidentified speaker, evidently emboldened by your statements, is heard, in a local language, declaring, 'The doors of RedForce should be closed. We will not accept this. If the contract does not exist, they should cease operations as of today; when they go to work, they should do so at their own risk or go with the police.'"
This is according to a letter Nangombe wrote, dated 12 November and addressed to Sankwasa.
“Such pronouncements are a direct and foreseeable consequence of your public utterances and have materially and imminently placed our personnel and premises at risk," she noted.
Words matter
She emphasised that RedForce operates a legitimate and duly authorised office in Katima Mulilo, employing local residents who perform their duties under lawful instruction and contractual mandate.
“As a senior public office-bearer, you are acutely aware of the weight your words carry in the public domain, particularly within a charged socio-political environment," Nangombe noted.
"The recklessness of making baseless, accusatory statements, fully aware of their potential to incite hostility and unrest, is not only indefensible but may constitute a dereliction of the constitutional duty to act fairly, responsibly, and in good faith,” she argued.
False claims
Nangombe said during the live broadcast in Katima Mulilo on Tuesday, the minister was allegedly seen brandishing a document described as an “audit report” and reportedly claimed it showed “there was never a contract between RedForce and the Katima Mulilo Town Council".
She noted that even if such an alleged report contained this information, "any such assertion would be demonstrably erroneous".
Nangombe informed the minister that "as the current administrator of the Katima Mulilo Town Council, you enjoy unrestricted access to the council’s records, documents, personnel and electronic data. The mere inability of your office, at a given time, to retrieve a physical copy of a contract cannot, by any reasonable standard, be equated with its non-existence."
She said correspondence and engagements emanating from “your own officials confirm precisely the opposite."
Nangombe wrote that on 15 October 2025, ministry officials contacted the company telephonically, asking for a copy of the procurement contract between RedForce and the Katima Mulilo Town Council on the basis that they were unable to locate their own.
"The very admission that they ‘could not find’ their copy necessarily implies that such a document existed in their possession at some stage; one cannot misplace what never existed,” Nangombe noted.
RedForce staff fearful
Following that engagement, RedForce sent a formal email to the council confirming that a duplicate copy of the contract would be provided.
"It would be wholly illogical to undertake to provide a copy of a document that did not exist," she noted, adding that in addition to the letter, she was attaching a duly executed copy of the procurement contract.
She emphasised that “at its duly convened meeting on 20 April 2022, the Council adopted a formal resolution awarding the debt-management contract to RedForce".
Troubling
Nangombe added that RedForce believes Sankwasa’s statements were a personal attack motivated by retaliation for the lawful disconnection of water services to properties in Katima Mulilo registered in the minister’s name or linked to him.
“As a matter of record, you have previously stated that you believed the reason for these disconnections was that RedForce was ‘being used by the Katima Mulilo Town Councillors to target’ you. The fact that you would adopt such a posture in response to the enforcement of standard credit-control procedures is deeply concerning and inconsistent with the principles of impartial governance and accountability expected of a Minister of State,” she said.
She added that "equally troubling is the contradiction between your present stance and your own prior public pronouncements. During a parliamentary sitting in April 2025, you expressly endorsed the disconnection of municipal services to defaulting accounts, noting that ‘even some members of this House’ were not paying for water and electricity and that such defaulters ‘would face the consequences'".
Nangombe described Sankwasa's actions as "both contradictory and disingenuous to now condemn the lawful execution of that very policy in Katima Mulilo simply because it has affected individuals of influence."
When reached for comment, Sankwasa said: “I will not be commenting anything on that matter.”
[email protected]
According to RedForce owner Selma Nangombe, the minister’s public remarks, which were shared online, have already led to “tangible and dangerous consequences".
"In one such recording, an unidentified speaker, evidently emboldened by your statements, is heard, in a local language, declaring, 'The doors of RedForce should be closed. We will not accept this. If the contract does not exist, they should cease operations as of today; when they go to work, they should do so at their own risk or go with the police.'"
This is according to a letter Nangombe wrote, dated 12 November and addressed to Sankwasa.
“Such pronouncements are a direct and foreseeable consequence of your public utterances and have materially and imminently placed our personnel and premises at risk," she noted.
Words matter
She emphasised that RedForce operates a legitimate and duly authorised office in Katima Mulilo, employing local residents who perform their duties under lawful instruction and contractual mandate.
“As a senior public office-bearer, you are acutely aware of the weight your words carry in the public domain, particularly within a charged socio-political environment," Nangombe noted.
"The recklessness of making baseless, accusatory statements, fully aware of their potential to incite hostility and unrest, is not only indefensible but may constitute a dereliction of the constitutional duty to act fairly, responsibly, and in good faith,” she argued.
False claims
Nangombe said during the live broadcast in Katima Mulilo on Tuesday, the minister was allegedly seen brandishing a document described as an “audit report” and reportedly claimed it showed “there was never a contract between RedForce and the Katima Mulilo Town Council".
She noted that even if such an alleged report contained this information, "any such assertion would be demonstrably erroneous".
Nangombe informed the minister that "as the current administrator of the Katima Mulilo Town Council, you enjoy unrestricted access to the council’s records, documents, personnel and electronic data. The mere inability of your office, at a given time, to retrieve a physical copy of a contract cannot, by any reasonable standard, be equated with its non-existence."
She said correspondence and engagements emanating from “your own officials confirm precisely the opposite."
Nangombe wrote that on 15 October 2025, ministry officials contacted the company telephonically, asking for a copy of the procurement contract between RedForce and the Katima Mulilo Town Council on the basis that they were unable to locate their own.
"The very admission that they ‘could not find’ their copy necessarily implies that such a document existed in their possession at some stage; one cannot misplace what never existed,” Nangombe noted.
RedForce staff fearful
Following that engagement, RedForce sent a formal email to the council confirming that a duplicate copy of the contract would be provided.
"It would be wholly illogical to undertake to provide a copy of a document that did not exist," she noted, adding that in addition to the letter, she was attaching a duly executed copy of the procurement contract.
She emphasised that “at its duly convened meeting on 20 April 2022, the Council adopted a formal resolution awarding the debt-management contract to RedForce".
Troubling
Nangombe added that RedForce believes Sankwasa’s statements were a personal attack motivated by retaliation for the lawful disconnection of water services to properties in Katima Mulilo registered in the minister’s name or linked to him.
“As a matter of record, you have previously stated that you believed the reason for these disconnections was that RedForce was ‘being used by the Katima Mulilo Town Councillors to target’ you. The fact that you would adopt such a posture in response to the enforcement of standard credit-control procedures is deeply concerning and inconsistent with the principles of impartial governance and accountability expected of a Minister of State,” she said.
She added that "equally troubling is the contradiction between your present stance and your own prior public pronouncements. During a parliamentary sitting in April 2025, you expressly endorsed the disconnection of municipal services to defaulting accounts, noting that ‘even some members of this House’ were not paying for water and electricity and that such defaulters ‘would face the consequences'".
Nangombe described Sankwasa's actions as "both contradictory and disingenuous to now condemn the lawful execution of that very policy in Katima Mulilo simply because it has affected individuals of influence."
When reached for comment, Sankwasa said: “I will not be commenting anything on that matter.”
[email protected]
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article