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Home / Lawyer gives ultimatum for Kanime reinstatement
Lawyer gives ultimatum for Kanime reinstatement
2018-07-25Staff Report 2 Loide Jason WINDHOEK – Lawyer Sisa Namandje has written to the City of Windhoek to demand that his client suspended City Police Chief Abraham Kanime, be reinstated into his job. Namandje said he is preparing this week an application in the High Court, which, if his demand for reinstatement is not met, would seek a special cost order against the City and its CEO Robert Kahimise. Kanime was suspended in March this year on allegations of spending unauthorised public funds. Namandje, in a letter dated July 19, said the allegations against his client lacked sense and that the City has conceded that there was no evidence backing its allegations. “In any event, your admission that there is no evidence to this date suggesting that our client has committed any offence, completely discards any reason or ground to keep our client on suspension,” he wrote last week. “Therefore, in view of the aforesaid, receive notice that an application in the High Court in the respect will be prepared during the week of July 23-27. A special cost order to that effect, if our client is not reinstated by then, will be sought against the City of Windhoek and the CEO,” indicated the letter. In a previous interview, Kanime told New Era that in less than three months after Kahimise’s appointment as the CEO in 2017, he had offered Kanime a retirement package that he (Kanime) turned down. Kanime was 57-years-old at the time. “Secondly, in order to frustrate me,” Kanime said, “they wanted to remove the support service department (Human Resources department), but that also failed because of the intervention by the then Urban and Rural Development Minister (Sophia Shaningwa).” Kanime further claimed at the time that since 2014, he experienced a lot of interference in City Police operations concerning the closure of illegal carwashes, liquor outlets and land invasions spearheaded by the landless. He lodged a grievance against City councillors and senior executives because of these, he said. “As a result, on behalf of the department, I put in a grievance so that they can hand it over to the relevant people in the security cluster (advisory committee) but they refused to do that. What I did, I took them to court to compel them to submit those grievances to the relevant authority,” stated Kanime, adding that he had informed them in writing that they will pay for his legal fees. Kanime said he had requested the City of Windhoek to pay for his legal fees and this resulted in him being charged with financial mismanagement. However, Kanime feels the alleged mismanagement of funds do not hold water as he does not touch money, nor does he have signatory powers. When contacted for comment, City CEO Kahimise refused to comment on the matter saying it was an internal staff matter. But said the City would soon issue a statement on the matter. 2018-07-25Staff Report 2
