WINDHOEK – Suspended Windhoek City Police chief Abraham Kanime wants the High Court to put aside his suspension on the basis it is unfair, unnecessary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
Kanime wants to be reinstated after his suspension last year by Windhoek chief executive officer Robert Kahimise for alleged serious misconduct.
The case was filed on April 29, 2019 and will be heard on May 10.
In court documents, Kanime says that since the beginning of March 2019 to date, the respondents have through their legal practitioner completely refused to fix dates for the hearing and to finalise the matter or even to uplift his suspension.
The respondents in the matter are chief executive officer Kahimise, as first respondent, and the council of the municipality of Windhoek, chaired by Agatha Iyambo Ashilelo, as second respondent. Kanime stated that the fact that some of the charges have since fallen off through the preliminary legal point raised by his legal practitioner on November 27, 2018, the fact that some charges were abandoned by the respondents during January 2019, and the fact that based on the memorandum of May 3, 2018 from the chief internal auditor to the first respondent, which memorandum was not produced at the hearing on November 27, 2018, it is very clear the remaining charges which he disputes, will be quashed if the hearing were to proceed.
Kanime stated the order is being sought on an urgent basis, seeing that if he was to bring the application in the ordinary course it would defeat the whole purpose of the application as he would be kept on suspension when the suspension has become unfair, unnecessary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
Kanime said it has also become clear that the respondents have no serious intention to continue with the disciplinary hearing.
“My continued suspension is a grave infringement to my dignity and my right to be subject to fair and reasonable adjudicative process as required by Article 18 of the Namibian Constitution,” stated Kanime.
Kanime said when he was suspended, he was informed he would be suspended until the finalisation of the investigation.
He said although he was unhappy, he remained on suspension even after finalisation of the investigation, and he was of the view that since the hearing was proceeding during the last quarter of 2018, he could get back to work simply upon finalisation of the hearing without the necessity of the approaching court to impugn his suspension.
Kanime further stated: It became clear during or about February, March and April 2019 that Kahimise in particular was determined to keep him on suspension while he has no interest in continuation of the disciplinary hearing, “probably because he has no belief in the charges that he preferred against me. This is because the charges have no merit whatsoever and I was determined to prove my innocence at the hearing.
“In fact, I deny the all allegations in the charge sheet.”