Court challenge forces LPM to shelf Swapo dismissals

The Landless People’s Movement-dominated //Karas Regional Council has reversed a decision to dismiss three Swapo councillors, after the ruling party challenged the matter in court.

This follows Swapo lawyers initially writing to the council demanding the reversal of the dismissals. The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) opposed the urgent application, prompting a hearing on Friday.

It was at that juncture that the parties agreed to a settlement, which allows Swapo councillors Lazarus Nangolo, Suzan Ndjaleka and Taimi Amakali - of Oranjemund, !Nami #Nus and Karasburg West constituencies respectively – to be reinstated in their positions.

The councillors will, therefore, carry out their duties in accordance with the Regional Councils Act - including attending relevant meetings and getting remunerated for their work. Their dismissal letters stated that their remunerations had ceased.

Friday’s settlement meant the matter is now removed from the urgent court roll, and will proceed in the ordinary course of court. The regional council now has until 1 March to file its answering affidavits, to which Swapo has until 19 March to respond. The matter will also now be allocated a judge, who must convene a management conference between the parties.

Transgressions

LMP dominates the //Karas Regional Council, with four councillors to Swapo’s three.

At the time of their dismissal, council chairperson Joseph Isaacks accused the councillors of various transgressions.

"The offences committed [range] from absconding from meetings without valid reasons and, deliberately and with malicious intent, trying to sabotage the council [to] refusing to fill vacant positions in the management committee with the intention of causing the council to fail [and being] unable to justify their absence," he said.

Swapo lawyer Sisa Namandje wrote a letter to Isaacks demanding that he reverse the dismissals. Namandje, a Swapo politburo member, said Section 10 of the Regional Councils Act, on which the dismissals were based, does not give the council power to fire councillors.

According to him, councillors may only ‘vacate’ their regional council positions under four circumstances, and dismissal is not one of them.

Highlighting laxities in the regional council’s conduct, the lawyer said the council meeting which resolved to fire the Swapo councillors was not held publicly - as is required by law. Also contrary to the law, the council did not inform the regional governor about the meeting, he said.

“The decision was motivated by irrelevant considerations and ulterior purposes,” Namandje wrote at the time.