Racism charge against Strauss

JEMIMA BEUKES A female trainee engineer, who has accused registered engineer Alwyn Strauss of racism and sexism, formally laid a charge against him yesterday.The trainee, Ankita Ndakukamo, also called on the Engineering Council of Namibia to permanently remove Strauss from its register.Ndakukamo contacted Strauss on 29 August, asking him to supervise her as he is the only registered civil engineer specialising in geotechnical engineering in the country who can supervise trainees in this specialised field.However, her hopes were dashed when he allegedly told her that he could not supervise her because she is black.The recording was shared on social media and has since gone viral.On the recording, Strauss also allegedly tells Ndakukamo that he cannot share his intellectual property with her because “government wants to drive out whites from the country”.Ndakukamo stated in her affidavit that Strauss’s conduct “seriously humiliated” her, “impaired her dignity” and had a negative effect on her person and career.“I contacted Strauss on 29 August 2016 with much admiration and respect as in my opinion he could be regarded as the pioneer in the field of geotechnical engineering in Namibia,” she stated.Ndakukamo delivered a letter of complaint on 6 September 2016 to the president of the Engineering Council of Namibia, Markus von Jeney, in which she expressed her grievances.A day later, on 7 September, Von Jeney responded but only to officially acknowledge Ndakukamo’s letter.On 3 October Ndakukamo sent a second letter to Von Jeney to express her disappointment in the council for not responding to her complaint about Strauss.Von Jeney responded to this on 6 October, informing her that her first letter was receiving the council’s attention.The council also indicated in this letter that any person lodging a complaint of improper conduct against an engineering professional is required to furnish an affidavit detailing the specific acts.“Nonetheless, the council has in the meantime progressed in terms of procedures to be able to start investigations when the Ethics Committee members have accepted their responsibility to serve on such committee,” the letter stated.The Namibian Society of Engineers (NASE) has also thrown its weight behind Ndakukamo and urged the engineering council to remove Strauss from its register.NASE chairperson Chales Mukwaso said Strauss’s conduct caused serious damage to the engineering profession and he should therefore be “weeded out”.When Namibian Sun called Strauss at his work number, a man who refused to identify himself terminated the call when the reporter identified herself.Attempts to contact Von Jeney also proved futile.

Racism charge against Strauss

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-06

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Racism charge against Strauss

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-06

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