WINDHOEK – Judge Elton Hoff yesterday declared null and void the Land Valuation Court whose constitutionality was challenged in the High Court in an urgent court application.
In a landmark ruling Judge Hoff indicated he would provide the reasons for his ruling on Friday, 20 September, 2013.
Judge Hoff said having heard Advocate Reinhardt Tötemeyer, SC, who appeared on behalf of the applicant, Kambazembi Guest Farm trading as Waterberg Wilderness assisted by Advocate Jesse Schickerling, and Marius Boonzaier for the Minister of Lands and Resettlement, the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, the Minister of Finance, the Chairperson of the Land Reform Advisory Commission, the Commissioner for Inland Revenue, the Attorney-General and the Valuation Court and having read the notice of motion he decided to reserve judgment.
He further ordered that the sitting of the Valuation Court established in terms of the provisions of Regulation 8 of Government Gazette No 120 of 2007 dated 3 July 2007 (‘the Valuation Court’) and scheduled for 30 August to 13 September 2013 null and void. The judge further made an order that the costs for the application shall be the costs in the main application served and filed on 22 August. The main application is for the review of the whole process in the High Court. During the hearing Tötemeyer argued that the process is illegal and not properly constituted. He argued for about two hours on the illegally constituted Valuation Court and cited various authorities to buttress his argument. According to him the Office of the Attorney General knew since 21 August that there are irregularities in the whole process and several objections were lodged. “Because of the Attorney-General’s dogged persistence the objectors were subjected to participate in illegality,” he argued. He said that on the first day of the illegally constituted court the objectors were confronted with an incomplete court and a recusal application.
To make matters worse, he said the court was illegally postponed from 30 August to 3 September and again illegally postponed to 9 September. According to Tötemeyer monetary damages of the objectors would be irreparable should the illegal process be allowed to continue.
On his part Boonzaier on behalf of the respondents said that while the applicants cry illegality it is a fact that there was no sitting of the Valuation Court and as such no illegal action took place. He told Judge Hoff that none of the members of the court were sworn in. He further said that the applicants lack locus standi, since the High Court cannot interfere with the jurisdiction of another court that is created through a statute.
Roland Routh