Board chairperson of the Namibia School Sports Union (NSSU) Theo Nuugula yesterday revealed the union has appointed an independent committee to fully investigate and come up with recommendations on the fate of suspended NSSU national coordinator Solly Duiker. 

Duiker, the union’s long-serving honcho, was suspended last month after he led a delegation of over 260 athletes to Potchefstroom, South Africa, to participate in the Confederation of Southern African Schools Sports Associations (Cosassa) Games, which never took place. The team arrived at an empty stadium with no other participating countries in
sight. 

The NSSU board shared last month that government had paid over N$430 000 for the disastrous trip.  

After placing Duiker on suspension last month, the board announced that preliminary investigations into the trip would be conducted, as they had found that Duiker misled the NSSU board about the Cosassa Games by providing false information and making the NSSU pay for meals and accommodation of athletes for an event that was never going to take place. 

The board also said Duiker falsely used the letterhead and signatory powers of Cosassa to extend an invitation to the NSSU without the authorisation of Cosassa, which amounts to forgery and identity theft.

Providing an update to this publication yesterday, Nuugula said upon the conclusion of their investigation, the committee will present a report to the board wherein they will recommend further actions to be taken as far as Duiker’s future as NSSU head is concerned. 

He, however, could not determine how long the investigation will take. 

“We have now appointed a committee to investigate and deal with that matter and so far, the investigations are still ongoing. I cannot determine or share how long they will take to investigate the matter, but what I can assure you is that the board will fully act on the recommendations of the committee and protect the integrity of the NSSU,” said Nuugula, who is temporarily overseeing the daily operations of the union as head of the board.

He said the ongoing investigation will involve witnesses and bring all the necessary documents to the fore to ensure that the whole process is fair and transparent. 

“So many things are currently involved in the ongoing investigations, such as witnesses that have to give statements and also the collection of crucial documents, and all these things will make it a bit hard to finish the process as quickly as we might have wanted.”

The NSSU suspension also led to Duiker’s suspension from the Cosassa executive committee. In its letter of 18 October,
Cosassa indicated that: “The executive committee in its virtual meeting held on 18 October 2022 took a decision to suspend you from office with immediate effect until further notice. The suspension is in line with article 15.13 of the constitution. It has been noted with records that you over-excised your powers as the president and contravened the constitution.” 

- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na