Dust-up over gravel road
A Droombos neighbour is demanding a public apology in the wake of accusations that he deliberately damaged a dirt road.
STAFF REPORTER
WINDHOEK
An expo aimed at providing a much-needed boost to tourism companies this week briefly became embroiled in a public spat that resulted in defamation claims.
Lawyers for a family whose property neighbours Droombos on the outskirts of Windhoek's Avis residential area, where the expo was hosted, on Tuesday issued a demand for an immediate retraction of public allegations posted on social media by an expo organiser earlier this week.
Acting on behalf of their client Günther Henle, the owner of Steel Force CC and Transline Transport, the lawyers also demanded the “immediate posting of a public apology on the page (Local Tourism is Lekker - Namibia).”
Further, that the allegations that Henle had deliberately damaged the gravel road leading to Droombos on Monday to “sabotage the expo” be refuted clearly in the apology. Henle and his legal team strongly denied the allegations against them, stressing that the roadworks were part of regular maintenance he undertakes on the road.
Ideal day
In the letter issued on Tuesday, Henle stated Monday was an “ideal day on which maintenance can be effected to the road”.
The legal letter stressed that one of the conditions of the servitude rights granted to Henle in 2005 over the respective road leading up to his property is that he must maintain the road at his own cost.
“Mr Henle has on a number of previous occasions made use of the excavator to effect maintenance to the road,” the letter stated.
Two sides
Henle's legal team informed the tourism expo organiser to whom the letter was addressed that the excavator depicted in photos taken on Monday had been used previously to maintain the road. The letter stated further that since the opening of Droombos, the owners of that establishment have allegedly not assisted in the maintenance of the road.
Mirinda van der Merwe of Droombos, however, in an interview with Republikein on Tuesday claimed that “in the two years I've been living at Droombos, Henle has never maintained the road. We get people to do it. I have invoices to prove that”.
Henle's legal team state in their demand for retraction and apology that he had requested his son to undertake “some maintenance” on Monday on the road, and that the excavator was used to “loosen large rocks embedded in the road, by digging the tusks of the front bucket into the road and driving it forward”.
Condition
On Tuesday, Henle told Republikein: “I did what I usually do twice a month on my road.
“I rip it up, remove large stones and then level it again. It is now in a much better condition than it was on Monday.
“I was finished by 19:00 and the road is now as good as new.”
He added that the road was built for his personal use. “The increased traffic is caused by people attending events hosted at Droombos and Vineyard.
“I can't work on the road when there's so much traffic, so I did it on Monday when it was quieter,” he said.
Municipal spokesperson Lydia Amutenya confirmed that the road in question is a private one, on private land, and does not belong to the City of Windhoek as was initially claimed by the expo organisers.
The Local Tourism is Lekker expo started on Monday and ends today.
WINDHOEK
An expo aimed at providing a much-needed boost to tourism companies this week briefly became embroiled in a public spat that resulted in defamation claims.
Lawyers for a family whose property neighbours Droombos on the outskirts of Windhoek's Avis residential area, where the expo was hosted, on Tuesday issued a demand for an immediate retraction of public allegations posted on social media by an expo organiser earlier this week.
Acting on behalf of their client Günther Henle, the owner of Steel Force CC and Transline Transport, the lawyers also demanded the “immediate posting of a public apology on the page (Local Tourism is Lekker - Namibia).”
Further, that the allegations that Henle had deliberately damaged the gravel road leading to Droombos on Monday to “sabotage the expo” be refuted clearly in the apology. Henle and his legal team strongly denied the allegations against them, stressing that the roadworks were part of regular maintenance he undertakes on the road.
Ideal day
In the letter issued on Tuesday, Henle stated Monday was an “ideal day on which maintenance can be effected to the road”.
The legal letter stressed that one of the conditions of the servitude rights granted to Henle in 2005 over the respective road leading up to his property is that he must maintain the road at his own cost.
“Mr Henle has on a number of previous occasions made use of the excavator to effect maintenance to the road,” the letter stated.
Two sides
Henle's legal team informed the tourism expo organiser to whom the letter was addressed that the excavator depicted in photos taken on Monday had been used previously to maintain the road. The letter stated further that since the opening of Droombos, the owners of that establishment have allegedly not assisted in the maintenance of the road.
Mirinda van der Merwe of Droombos, however, in an interview with Republikein on Tuesday claimed that “in the two years I've been living at Droombos, Henle has never maintained the road. We get people to do it. I have invoices to prove that”.
Henle's legal team state in their demand for retraction and apology that he had requested his son to undertake “some maintenance” on Monday on the road, and that the excavator was used to “loosen large rocks embedded in the road, by digging the tusks of the front bucket into the road and driving it forward”.
Condition
On Tuesday, Henle told Republikein: “I did what I usually do twice a month on my road.
“I rip it up, remove large stones and then level it again. It is now in a much better condition than it was on Monday.
“I was finished by 19:00 and the road is now as good as new.”
He added that the road was built for his personal use. “The increased traffic is caused by people attending events hosted at Droombos and Vineyard.
“I can't work on the road when there's so much traffic, so I did it on Monday when it was quieter,” he said.
Municipal spokesperson Lydia Amutenya confirmed that the road in question is a private one, on private land, and does not belong to the City of Windhoek as was initially claimed by the expo organisers.
The Local Tourism is Lekker expo started on Monday and ends today.
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