Court rules against minister in ELCIN land dispute at Ongwediva

The Windhoek High Court has dealt a major blow to the urban and rural development ministry, setting aside a decision that blocked the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) from buying three plots of land in Ongwediva.

The decision was made in 2022, when Erastus Uutoni held the ministerial post.

In a judgment delivered on 17 April, acting judge Reinhard Tötemeyer ruled that the minister had exceeded his legal powers by attempting to force the church into negotiations and inviting an objector to apply for the same land.

The dispute centres on erven 6230, 6231 and 6232 in Ongwediva's Extension 2, where ELCIN has operated a senior primary school, a centre and a guesthouse since 1926.

The Ongwediva Town Council had intended to sell the land to the church through a private transaction, but a resident, Raimo Angula, objected.

Angula claimed he had inherited the land from his father and that the church had fenced it off without permission.

In September 2022, the ministry upheld Angula’s objection.

However, instead of simply approving or refusing the sale as required by law, the minister directed that Angula be allowed to apply for the land himself.

Regarding the plot containing the guesthouse, the minister instructed the church and Angula to “reach a consensus” before returning to him.

Decision set aside

Tötemeyer found that the minister acted outside his authority.

The judge explained that under the Local Authorities Act of 1992, the minister has only three options when an objection is lodged: approve the sale, refuse it or order that the land be sold through a public tender.

“The Act did not confer any power upon the minister to allow an objector an opportunity to apply for the erven... or direct parties to reach a consensus,” the judgment states.

The court also rejected an argument by the minister’s legal team that his decision amounted to a tender directive, noting that the term “tender” was never used in the minister’s letter.

In addition, the court found that the minister blocked the sale of one plot, Erf 6230, despite there being no objection to it.

The judge ruled that the minister had no authority to interfere with that specific plot.

Because the minister’s unlawful directions were “interwoven” with the rest of the decision, the court set aside the entire decision.

Begin again

The High Court has now ordered the Ongwediva Town Council to restart the process from the beginning.

Council has been given 30 days to publish new notices and follow the law strictly.

Although ELCIN succeeded in the case, the court did not order the minister to pay the church’s legal costs.

For now, the church remains in possession of the land while the process restarts.

Lawyer Appolus Shimakeleni represented ELCIN.

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