WINDHOEK- The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Peya Mushelenga, has dismissed claims the City of Windhoek misled him when it suspended the city’s CEO, Robert Kahimise.
Lawyers representing then suspended Kahimise claimed in a letter last week the city council ‘deliberately misled’ Mushelenga in their letter of 18 October, in order to obtain approval when they said the management committee recommended his suspension when they knew this was factually incorrect.
But Mushelenga, speaking to New Era, said as a lawyer himself, he received the notice, agenda and minutes of the meeting and the documents provided informed the decision that he made.
“The council did not mislead me by requesting for suspension in terms of law, having followed the correct procedures in convening a meeting and resolving to request the minister accordingly,” he said.
The City of Windhoek’s management committee last week briefly suspended Kahimise after he allegedly got a study loan from his employers without following required procedures.
The study loan, reported to amount to N$1 million, was approved by Windhoek mayor Muesee Kazapua and management committee chairperson Mathew Amadhila earlier this year.
His suspension was approved by Mushelenga following a request by the management committee to suspend him.
Kahimise, after an intervention by his lawyers Dr Weder, Kauta and Hoveka Inc law firm, was subsequently reinstated and told to report for work last Friday.
However, New Era understands that Kahimise has still not reported for work.
In a letter addressed to the deputy mayor and vice-chairperson of the council, Teckla Uwanga, dated 26 October, by Dr Weder, Kauta and Hoveka Inc law firm, the lawyers representing Kahimise said that in the letter of reinstatement the city failed to engage the essence of their letter of 24 October, in that the minutes of the council meeting of 22 October remains conspicuous by their absence.
“Your letter is vague in two respects. Firstly, when, you state ‘we’ are you writing on behalf of Management Committee or Council? Secondly, what (in law) empowers you to withdraw the suspension of our client on 25 October 2018 at 15h26 when the Council meeting authorizing the withdrawal took place only thereafter,” reads the letter.
The law firm said their client Kahimise will not report to work until they are provided with council meeting minutes of 22 October 2018, the management committee meeting of 24 October, council meeting of 24 October, management committee meeting of 25 October and the council meeting of 25 October to enable them to properly advise their client.
The law firm in a previous correspondence to the city council said the suspension was unlawful, illegal, irregular and breached all enabling policies and statutes.
They said the council’s misrepresentation to Mushelenga prompted the minister to take an irrational, unreasonable and unlawful decision.