NUST, Gideon battle back in court

A battle between the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) and Professor Frednard Gideon resumed in the Windhoek High Court yesterday, with Gideon insisting that the university’s decision to appoint Dr Erold Naomab as its vice-chancellor was “unlawful, unreasonable and irrational”.Gideon seeks an order that would set aside the university’s decision to appoint Naomab instead of himself, and that Naomab’s employment contract be declared invalid and unauthorised.He also seeks a costs order, including the legal costs of two legal practitioners.Lawyer Sisa Namandje said his client Gideon fared better than Naomab in the interview process, and boasted eight years of senior level experience, while Naomab only had six years’ experience.Namandje pointed out that the advertisement for the post made it clear that it would be an advantage for the candidate to have a professorial rank - which Naomab did not have - however, NUST board chair Florette Nakusera reportedly later on said this was not the case.“This is a glaring irregularity. It is common cause that Naomab does not have that advantage, a professorial rank, yet despite him losing out to Gideon in both the quantitative and qualitative selection process, he was nevertheless bizarrely appointed,” he said.Not unfitIn its heads of arguments, NUST pointed out that Gideon has failed to show that Naomab is incompetent to be appointed as vice-chancellor of the university, or that he is unfit for the position, and simply stated that he out-performed Naomab during the selection process and should thus have been appointed.The university also said it received a report by the Joint Search Committee of Council and Senate (JSCCS), carefully considered all the information at its disposal, and decided to appoint Naomab.“The NUST statutes do not require the council to simply rubberstamp the report of the JSCCS, as it seems to be suggested by Gideon. It is required that the JSCCS consider the report, and after that consideration, appoint the vice-chancellor.“The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘consideration’ as ‘the act of thinking carefully about something’. Had the university council’s discretion been fettered, the relevant provisions of the statutes would have said so,” it argued.The university also took a shot at Gideon, saying it was humanly impossible for him to have supervised the number of PhD and master’s degree candidates he claims to have done.A fair, reasonable and rational decision was taken by the administrative body to appoint Naomab as the vice-chancellor, NUST stressed.“A decision which has been taken with due, fair and reasonable consideration of all the pertinent available information cannot be an irrational decision. Therefore, in that respect, the decision to appoint Naomab as the vice-chancellor was not unlawful, as it was done as contemplated by the NUST Act and its accompanying statutes,” the university said.jemima@namibiansun.com

NUST, Gideon battle back in court

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-06

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NUST, Gideon battle back in court

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-06

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