Urban and Rural Development Minister James Sankwasa has nullified the process that was followed in swearing in three Gobabis municipality councillors.

They are Veronia Mokaleng-Kuzeeko, Wynand Lukas and Alleta Kooper, who are all from the Right To Shelter Foundation of Namibia.

Sankwasa, who was recently in Gobabis to officiate the induction and training sessions for local authority councillors and chief executive officers in the Omaheke region, said the swearing in was not only unprocedural but also undermines existing laws and the Electoral Act.

The Right To Shelter Foundation of Namibia won three seats on the Gobabis municipal council in the last regional and local authority elections.

The foundation’s ascent to the town’s municipal council resulted in a rift between the foundation’s leader, Mokaleng-Kuzeeko and one of its senior members, Dina Fillemon, who was initially elected and sworn in as deputy mayor before the association recalled her.

Mokaleng-Kuzeeko and her Right To Shelter of Namibia movement, in a letter dated 11 December 2025, cited unruliness and unbecoming behaviour for Fillemon’s withdrawal from the municipal council.

The movement then proceeded to submit Aletta Kooper’s name as the replacement for Fillemon, who was listed second on the Right To Shelter of Namibia election list. Kooper was ninth on the movement’s candidate list.

But attempts to have Kooper sworn in as a replacement for Fillemon were blocked by the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), which advised that Kooper had not been gazetted and could therefore not be sworn in to represent the movement on the municipal council.

Nullified

During his Gobabis visit, Sankwasa stressed that the ECN’s advice should have been followed and that the Right To Shelter of Namibia was given ample time to rectify its internal nomination processes before submitting candidate names for gazetting.

“Before the election, you are free to change your list, but not after the election. If you come and change it after the elections, it becomes invalid and no magistrate has got the power to change that list. Not even the minister has the power to change the list. Only the lawful due process can change the list and that should have been followed,” explained the minister.

Sankwasa was also puzzled as to why the movement remained silent until the election was conducted and later decided that the person who was number three on the list was erroneously gazetted and opted to bring in someone who was number nine on the list.

“Unfortunately, the law does not allow it. And since the person who was elected deputy mayor of the Gobabis Municipality withdrew, the position will remain vacant until the matter is resolved through a judicial review,” clarified Sankwasa.

-ohembapu@nepc.com.na