WINDHOEK – After their urgent court application was removed from the roll with costs last week by High Court judge Claudia Claasen on technicalities, Gobabis club Young African is fighting on.
They will soon be back in court to push ahead with their case.
The club’s urgent application launched with the Windhoek High Court last week sought interim relief to have the demoted club reinstated into the Namibia Premier League (NPL) but due to small technicalities, the case was removed from the roll with costs.
Judge Claasen felt that the club’s lawyers did not fully comply with the rules and timelines of the High Court when they served their notice to all respondents. NPL and African Stars, who were the first and second respondents to the matter, objected to the service of notice, which they felt was naturally unprocedural and also had an issue with time frames in which the notice was given– especially the use of e-mails – saying it is not in full compliance with the rules and norms of High Court.
The judge agreed that not all respondents may have had the opportunity to respond in the prescribed time frame and also advised that the deputy sheriff of High Court be appointed to serve hard copy summons to all the respondents, in order to satisfy that sufficient time is availed to all summoned parties.
Yesterday, the club’s chairman Mali Ngarizemo confirmed that the deputy sheriff has been appointed and has already started delivering High Court summons to all respondents. He also added that most, if not all, Windhoek based clubs had already received their summons as of yesterday and that all respondents have until 5 March to respond as the actual hearing is set for 8 March.
African, which was fined N$50 000 and demoted from the NPL last month by the league’s Disciplinary Committee for having registered and used Zimbabwean import Tapiwa Simon Musekiwa with tampered identity documents last season, is seeking reinstatement pending the appeal outcome as per Rule 57.1 of the NPL which states “penalties or orders imposed by the Disciplinary Committee or other body of the league or the NFA will only become effective when the internal remedies available to the party/parties so sentenced have been exhausted, or when the prescribed time limit to exercise the next available internal remedy has expired”.