WINDHOEK – Local business mogul and executive chairman of Katutura glamour football club African Stars, Sidney Martin, has squashed suggestions that his decision to drag MTC Premiership chairman Johnny ‘JJD’ Doeseb to court constitutes a serious act of misconduct.
Martin is irked by what he terms an unjustified and uncalled for verbal attack by Doeseb during the much-publicized debacle between Stars and the country’s football authorities.
Doeseb called Martin to order describing him as an undesirable object and a threat to the future of Namibian football. He further charged Martin was enemy number one of the top echelons of the domestic flagship league (NPL).
Martin would have none of that and could no longer digest the verbal jabs thrown wildly at him by the NPL chairman. In a letter from his legal representatives Du Plessis, Roux and Partners addressed to Doeseb, the latter was made aware of the disgust noted by the complainant, which is interpreted as defamation and character assassination.
“The defamation is causing Mr Martin severe damage due to the articles that are still in the public domain and each time someone ‘googles’ Mr Martin, these articles crop up. This has a devastating effect on his severable business activities and involvement in Namibian football,” reads the letter verbatim.
It demanded that Doeseb within seven days of receipt of the letter publicly apologize to Mr Martin for the statements and innuendos and to ensure that it also be published in The Namibian, Namib Times and New Era newspapers with the heading: “Mr JJ Doeseb apologizes to Martin for defamatory statements”.
Failure to adhere to the above request would result in Martin’s legal team instituting action against Doeseb for the damage caused by the statements as well as claim all legal costs on an attorney-client basis.
However, Doeseb’s legal team Conradie & Damaseb shot back denying any wrongdoing contained in Doeseb’s statements. “Our client denies that the words published in the newspapers were paraded with the intent to insult or injure the good reputation of the complainant.
“The words were rather said with an object permitted by law and or in the alternative with the lawful object to publish, report and convey in the ordinary course of the business of the NPL concerning a fair and accurate account of the state of affairs then existing in Namibian football regarding the sad issue of Stars and NPL.”
It ends with the following clause: “Under the circumstances, our client categorically denies that Mr Martin has sustained any damages whatsoever and therefore he shall not apologize as requested. Kindly be advised further that any action contemplated by your client shall certainly be resisted by our client.”