Iuze Mukube
Three Swapo //Kharas Regional Council members, who were previously suspended without remuneration, have been reinstated.
A partial settlement agreement reached on 18 February 2025, directed for the reinstatement of Lazarus Nangolo, Taimi Amakali and Suzan Ndjaleka.
A court order regarding the matter has not been issued yet, with proceedings postponed for two weeks as of 21 February 2025.
The agreement was reached by the parties after an urgent application was lodged by Nangolo and his co-applicants on 11 February 2025.
The application was directed against regional council chairperson Joseph Isaack, Anseline Beukes, Jeremias Goeieman and Willem Labuschagne.
It requested for the four to be declared guilty of contempt of court due to their failure to adhere to directives aimed at reinstating the three councillors, given on 9 February 2024, and again on 6 September 2024.
The ruling was made in favour of the three councillors, who had filed a lawsuit against Isaack and his co-respondents on 25 January 2025, alleging unlawful termination without remuneration from the council.
However, since last year, the directive has not been followed as ordered, prompting Nangolo and his co-applicants to motion an urgent application seeking to hold the respondents in contempt of court.
Furthermore, they also requested that they receive a sentence of six months in prison, with an additional request for them to hand themselves over to the police within a specified timeframe.
Should they fail to comply, the authorities should take all necessary and legally permissible actions to ensure their transfer to a correctional facility.
On 14 February 2025, before the matter could be heard on 21 February 2025, the respondents opted to resolve the matter amicably, and engaged Nangolo with proposals by way of a letter.
An agreement was reached that Isaack will fully comply with the court order issued in September last year, for the councillors to be reinstated with a provision of outstanding remunerations backdated from July last year.
Additionally, the reinstatement is to be communicated to the three councillors in writing, no later than 19 February 2025.
While the parties had reached an agreement on some aspects of the case, the issue of legal costs remained unresolved, leaving the determination of these costs to the court.
The lawsuit stemmed from the three councillors challenging the council’s decision to relieve them without remuneration from council duties, after Isaack accused the councillors of absconding from meetings and declining to take on management roles.
Nangolo and his co-applicants contended that Isaack’s decision to suspend them without pay lacked legal or statutory authority in terms of section 10 of the Regional Councils Act, asserting that the decision was motivated by irrelevant and ulterior motives.
The applicants were represented by Sisa Namandje, while Dr Weder, Kauta & Hoveka Legal Practitioners represented the //Kharas Regional Council, councillors Isaack, Beukes, Goeieman, Labuschagne, acting CRO Ralph Sachika, and the Landless People’s Movement. –mukubeiuze@gmail.com