The National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) has threatened court action against the City of Windhoek council for renewing the employment contract of City Police chief Abraham Kanime. Party secretary general Josef Kauandenge said they are planning to file a case in court, challenging the procedure used by the city council to extend Kanime’s contract. 

The city council extended Kanime’s contract at an extraordinary council meeting last week Thursday. “We are calling upon the city council to reverse their illegal decision of retaining chief Kanime as head of the City Police within 14 days – from today (Wednesday); otherwise, meet us in court. We have the funds,” said Kauandenge. 

“Make no mistake; we shall equally ask the court to issue a punitive cost order personally against the chairperson of council, as well as individual councillors. Opposition councillors in the city are sick and tired of Swapo councillors using their majority to bulldoze issues regardless of sound advice to the contrary. We are tired of that.” Kauandenge, who is also a former Nudo representative on the city council before his resignation last year to vie for a National Assembly seat, said they have been closely monitoring developments at the City of Windhoek in the past week. 

“Facts at our disposal state that chief Kanime tendered his resignation on 20 January 2020, and his resignation was officially accepted by his immediate boss, the CEO, as per procedures,” Kauandenge said. 
He said, according to the Police Service Act under which City Police falls, when the head of the municipal police resigns, the CEO must put motion in place to recruit someone else in that position by identifying a possible replacement and forwarding that person’s name to the national police chief for vetting and clearance. 

However, he said, while the said process was ongoing, Kahungu and her council decided upon themselves to extend Kanime’s contract for another “five years”. “What is surprising is how can a person, who will turn 60 years in less than four months, resign? It does not make sense. We now know why. It was a deliberate action on his part, possibly with the consent of some Swapo councillors at the city, to hand in his resignation and left to be wheelbarrowed, through the back door, back into the City Police again. That, to us, is blatant corruption,” he added. 
– ktjitemisa@nepc.com.na