Roland Routh
Windhoek-More trouble is brewing in Swapo circles just days before the watershed congress scheduled for this coming weekend, with four party members that did not make the list of delegates to represent Omaheke Region at the congress asking the court to declare null and void the decision of the structures that elected the current delegates.
Kejamuina Uhungira Mungendje, Maleagi Ndisiro, Frans Murangi and Progarius Muriambihu are also asking the
court to interdict 27 of the 81 respondents from attending the congress. According to documents filed at the High Court, they claim the respondents in the case were unduly elected by the Omaheke structures to attend the congress.
The respondents include Omaheke Governor Festus Uitele and Kilus Nguvauva, among others.
The matter was first on the roll last Friday, but the deputy judge president ordered the applicants represented by Tuafeni Muhongo on instructions of Khadila Amoomo to place the notice of motion outlining their prayers and the respondents in the New Era and Namibian newspapers and to broadcast it on the NBC English and Herero radio stations to give the respondents not served adequate time to prepare their defences, if they so wished.
The case was then remanded to yesterday and all but 14 of the respondents did not file opposing papers to indicate their opposition to the application. The judge after hearing from South African senior Advocate Vas Soni on instructions from Dirk Conradie, the legal representatives of the represented respondents postponed the matter to tomorrow to afford the rest of the respondents time to file opposing affidavits if they wish to.
The respondents include the Swapo Party, Bernhard Esau, Christine //Hoëbes, Erastus Uutoni, Gothardt Kasuto, Theo-Ben Gurirab, Libertine Amadhila, Katrina Hanse-Himarwa, Marco Hausiku, the Swapo Party Elders Council, Swapo Party Women’s Council and Swapo Party Youth League, as well as those represented by Gerson Narib and Muhongo.
The judge ordered them to file their papers before 12h00 today and for the applicants to file replying papers by the end of the workday.