A businessman from Katima Mulilo is suing the town’s mayor for a whopping
N$978 723. 08 for blocking a musical festival.

Businessman Peter Chola Musonda and his company Zanbami Investments CC planned a musical festival at the Ngweze Hall on 23 December 2023. To this effect, they approached the Katima Mulilo Town Council with a proposition to promote, host and stage the event and sought permission from the council to use the hall during the period 30 November to 6 December. 

On 8 December, the council communicated to Chola that permission was granted at no cost on condition that he cleaned the outside premises as well as fix the identified electrical and plumbing faults at the hall. 

Chola, on the same day, applied for a public gathering certificate to stage the festival to the Namibian Police and paid all prescribed fees. However, despite several attempts to ascertain the status of the application, he got no feedback. On 22 December 2023, the day before the event was to take place, Chola was told verbally by a certain police chief inspector on behalf of the police that no certificate would be issued, and that the festival should be called off because John Ntemwa, the mayor, filed an objection against the staging of the festival and that the Namibian Police chief Joseph Shikongo instructed him to disallow the festival, and decline issuing the gathering certificate. 

However, Chola stated, they were not provided with any copy of the objection or any written rejection with reasons for rejecting the certificate, nor were they invited to make representations in support of their application. When, on the same day, the plaintiff’s personnel were preparing the hall for the event, Ntemwa, accompanied by some private security guards and a certain traffic officer, showed up at the premises, and informed the staff members that there would be no festival to be hosted at the hall. 

Ntemwa allegedly then caused the hall to be locked, thereby denying Chola access to remove all equipment and goods from the hall.

According to the notice of motion filed at the High Court by his lawyer Vernon Lutibezi from Kalundu Kamwi Law Chambers, after being granted permission by the council to use the hall, Chola started preparing for the festival by paying artists and purchasing goods and services such as immigration visas, transport, branding, advertisement, tickets, food, accommodation, furniture, manpower/labour, security, electricity, water, renovations, repairs, designing, and masters of ceremony to the tune of N$423 405.73. 

In addition, he said, he anticipated making a profit of N$600 000 from the sale of tickets, stands/stalls, and stock (beverages and food) but for the conduct of Ntemwa, which loss he tried to mitigate by selling the beverages at local bars. Further, he said, he suffered irreparable damage to his reputation in the entertainment industry.

To date, the mayor has not come back to him to explain his conduct despite numerous calls and messages made and sent to his mobile phone, and further demands notwithstanding, the mayor failed or neglected to pay the demands so demanded. He is now asking the High Court to grant him an order to compel the respondents to pay him monetary damages with interest of 20% from the date of judgment to the date of order and costs of suit. At the time of going to print, none of the respondents indicated they would oppose the
 matter. 

-rrouth@nepc.com.na