WINDHOEK – Former Namibia football reigning champions African Stars coach Robert Nauseb has dragged the club to the office of the Labour Commissioner, demanding that the club pays in full his outstanding money.
Nauseb was telephonically fired by Stars in December last year due to a string of poor results and overall under performance by the team. Stars hired Nauseb last year August and fired him just four matches into his two-year contract.
Resultantly, Nauseb was fired with 20 months still left on his employment contract and as naturally expected, Stars were expected to pay out the remaining 20 months on his contract so that they can amicably part ways.
But that has not been the case almost five months down the line, as the former Brave Warriors enterprising midfielder is yet to receive a penny of his outstanding money and it somewhat appears that Stars are reluctant to pay out Nauseb’s money for the remaining 20 months of his contract.
Nauseb has since moved on and is currently in the employment of coastal outfit Eleven Arrows and appears to have settled in well at the seaside giants.
Further digging by this publication brought to the fore that Nauseb and his legal representative Olsen Kahiriri of Kahiriri Consultancy last Friday requested a roundtable discussion with Stars leadership but were only met by the club’s legal representatives from Weder, Kauta & Hoveka Inc. and no concrete solutions were forthcoming from the side of Stars’ representatives to reach a mutual agreement.
Left with no choice, Nauseb yesterday approached the office of the Labour Commissioner were he hopes to take his grievances further and possibly reach a satisfactory conclusion.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Kahiriri confirmed that his consultancy firm is representing Nauseb in the labour dispute between the two parties and further said that Stars lawyers “were not interested in reaching an amicable solution at last Friday’s meeting.” “We have now taken the matter to the office of the Labour Commissioner and we have also been given May 9 as the day for the case to commence. What Stars did to Nauseb is unfair and they (Stars) also know it at the back of their heads that it is an injustice for the coach. The club fired the coach and 20 months were still left on his contract and money for the remaining months is owed to him, so I don’t understand why Stars is trying to flex their legal muscles over a straight forward issue,” said Kahiriri.
He further said: “Reading through the contract that the club offered to Nauseb, one can see that it was drafted by a legal mind that deliberately crafted it in a way that will allow Stars to get away with such unfairness. But they will not get way with those loopholes deliberately implanted into the contract because we have labour laws in this country and we have a constitution as well, so any employment contract should naturally be in harmony with our respective labour laws. Nauseb was employed by Stars and an employment contract was entered into and that is what matters here, not the cooked clauses in the contract given to Nauseb by Stars.”
Reached for comment late yesterday, African Stars Executive Director Salomo Hei said they were not aware that Nauseb has approached the office of the Labour Commissioner but added that the club was prepared to engage him at any level.
Asked if Stars owe Nauseb money, Hei said: “I can’t speak on the part of the money because the contract between the two parties has various clauses in it and when those clauses are read together, you will understand better as to what is going on here. But since he has already approached the Labour Commissioner, it’s now best we deal with the matter at that level.”