Landless People’s Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi and his former deputy Henny Seibeb, scored a landslide victory on Friday when the Windhoek High Court granted all their orders in a constitutionality challenge that culminated from their infamous conduct in Parliament during the 2021 Presidential address.
Judges Tomas Masuku, Boas Usiku and Eileen Rakow set aside the decision of the Rules Committee purportedly taken on 21 April 2021 to refer their case to the Privileges Committee, which then decided on 26 April 2021 to investigate their conduct.
The court set aside all the meetings and decisions taken by the Privileges Committee subsequent to its meeting on 26 April 2021.
The court set aside the decision of the National Assembly to adopt the findings of a report from the Privileges Committee entitled ‘Investigation into the conduct of Hon. Bernadus Swartbooi and Hon. Henny Seibeb on 15 April 2021, during the State of the Nation Address’.
They also declared certain sections of the Standing Rules and Orders and Internal Arrangements of the National Assembly unconstitutional.
These sections deal with the restrictions of the courts to determine whether the actions and decisions of the National Assembly and its Committees are lawful or not.
The phrase “grossly improper” occurring in Rule 111 was declared vague and unconstitutional.
The judges suspended the use of the Rule for 24 months to allow the National Assembly to remedy the defect giving rise to the unconstitutionality.
“We are of the opinion that the nature and impact of the decisions made by the Speaker and the propriety of his involvement in the subsequent processes involving the applicants, must be viewed not from his subjective view,” said the judges.
The judges said Katjavivi must have recused himself from all decisions.
“We are of the considered opinion that he had a conflict of interest in this matter, having excluded the applicants from the House and subsequently made excoriating remarks about them in court proceedings,” said the judges.
The judges ordered that Katjavivi, the Attorney General and the government must jointly bear the cost of the suit.
On 15 April 2021, Swartbooi and Seibeb brought the joint sitting of Parliament to a standstill while then President Hage Geingob was delivering his annual State of the Nation Address.
The pair caused several disruptions and got embroiled in a shouting match that eventually ended in their removal from the session.
Swartbooi also knocked off the ceremonial mace from its stand, and Seibeb was led out of the door by Geingob’s security by his ear, tearing his suit in the melee. The sitting was then adjourned and in May 2023, the High Court dismissed, with cost, a case in which the two parliamentarians were challenging the decision by Speaker Peter Katjavivi to bar them from attending parliament.
However, the Supreme Court in August 2021 ruled that Katjavivi’s decision to suspend Swartbooi and Seibeb from parliament was unlawful.
Vincent Maleka represented Katjavivi and the government, while Kameel Premhid, assisted by Patrick Kauta, represented LPM.
-mamakali@nepc.com.na