Rundu ordered to pay Redforce legal fees
The Windhoek High Court has ordered the Rundu town council to compensate Redforce for costs related to the local authority’s legal team's failure to comply with court orders.
“This court hereby orders that wasted costs be granted to the plaintiff for the defendant’s previous late compliance with court orders,” High Court Judge Eileen Rakow's decision reads.
The exact figure has not been officially disclosed, but Namibian Sun is reliably informed that it is about N$30 000.
Explanations given
According to court documents, Rundu's legal representative, government attorney Wilhelm Amukoto, failed to comply with several ordered deadlines.
In October, Amukoto told the court this was because he is based in Windhoek while his clients are based in Rundu. He also said he had failed to obtain clear instructions.
On another occasion, the court was informed that a deadline could not be met because Amukoto was involved in a civil trial at another court.
“The defendants were unfortunately unable to file their condonation application due to the inordinately short time allowed, when coupled with the defendants’ legal practitioners workload.”
Legal representation
Rundu town council has employed private lawyers in previous legal matters.
However, in the case against Redforce, they turned to the office of the attorney general for legal representation.
Rundu CEO Olavi Nathanael explained that the council could not afford a private lawyer.
A few months ago, a council employee expressed disappointment in the council for opting for the attorney general route instead of hiring a private lawyer.
“Government lawyers are preoccupied with a lot of work, and in a matter of this magnitude, which involves close to N$10 million, we needed a private lawyer. This will cost us, and we will end up paying Redforce the money they want, which they did not work for,” the source argued.
RedForce claims it lost an estimated N$9.2 million due to the termination of the contract in February, 10 months before the agreement was due to end.
The council argues that it was well within their right to terminate the Redforce contract as the company failed to meet its N$5 million monthly target.
The case has been postponed to 23 January next year, for a status hearing.
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“This court hereby orders that wasted costs be granted to the plaintiff for the defendant’s previous late compliance with court orders,” High Court Judge Eileen Rakow's decision reads.
The exact figure has not been officially disclosed, but Namibian Sun is reliably informed that it is about N$30 000.
Explanations given
According to court documents, Rundu's legal representative, government attorney Wilhelm Amukoto, failed to comply with several ordered deadlines.
In October, Amukoto told the court this was because he is based in Windhoek while his clients are based in Rundu. He also said he had failed to obtain clear instructions.
On another occasion, the court was informed that a deadline could not be met because Amukoto was involved in a civil trial at another court.
“The defendants were unfortunately unable to file their condonation application due to the inordinately short time allowed, when coupled with the defendants’ legal practitioners workload.”
Legal representation
Rundu town council has employed private lawyers in previous legal matters.
However, in the case against Redforce, they turned to the office of the attorney general for legal representation.
Rundu CEO Olavi Nathanael explained that the council could not afford a private lawyer.
A few months ago, a council employee expressed disappointment in the council for opting for the attorney general route instead of hiring a private lawyer.
“Government lawyers are preoccupied with a lot of work, and in a matter of this magnitude, which involves close to N$10 million, we needed a private lawyer. This will cost us, and we will end up paying Redforce the money they want, which they did not work for,” the source argued.
RedForce claims it lost an estimated N$9.2 million due to the termination of the contract in February, 10 months before the agreement was due to end.
The council argues that it was well within their right to terminate the Redforce contract as the company failed to meet its N$5 million monthly target.
The case has been postponed to 23 January next year, for a status hearing.
- [email protected]
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