Smith Howard ordered to apologise to ex-colleague

Former Erongo Regional Council chairperson Ciske Smith Howard must publish a written apology and retraction of remarks she made about a Henties Bay town councillor in October 2021, a judge ordered in the Windhoek High Court on Friday.

Judge Nate Ndauendapo made the order at the end of a judgement in which he found that Smith Howard made defamatory remarks about Henties Bay Town Council member Sifried //Garoëb, in a discussion broadcast on Facebook on 21 October 2021.

//Garoëb sued Smith Howard for N$350 000 in connection with the remarks. Ndauendapo did not award any sum of money to him, though, after finding there was no evidence before him on the amount claimed by //Garoëb, and that the court should not adopt a piecemeal approach to litigation by having a further hearing to determine the amount to be awarded to //Garoëb.

n the circumstances of the matter, a retraction and apology by Smith Howard would be appropriate, Ndauendapo said. In the remarks that prompted //Garoëb to sue Smith Howard, she said he had “seemingly stolen” from the Henties Bay Town Council while previously employed by the local authority, that he was relieved of his duties after an investigation found he was guilty, and that she felt “we cannot make the thief the head of the institution from which he stole”. Smith Howard and //Garoëb were both members of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) when she made the remarks.

The party subsequently, in May last year, pushed her out of her positions as regional councillor for the Swakopmund constituency and chairperson of the Erongo Regional Council.

During the hearing of his lawsuit against Smith Howard, //Garoëb said he was an assistant credit control clerk at the town council until he resigned with effect from the end of October 2018, while he was facing a disciplinary hearing.

The court heard that //Garoëb was investigated by a law firm after a customer of the town council complained that an amount of N$1 000 paid to //Garoëb in respect of the person’s municipal account was not reflected on the account. The town council accepted his resignation on condition that he had to repay N$23 032 to the council. The court was also informed that although disciplinary charges had been drawn up against //Garoëb, he was not found guilty of any misconduct, as he resigned before his disciplinary hearing could take place.

Smith Howard told the judge her remarks were not intended to damage //Garoëb’s reputation or create an impression that he is a convicted criminal. She also said the IPC supposedly had a zero-tolerance stance against corruption, but had been reluctant to address the situation of

//Garoëb’s election as town councillor. Her comments were an expression of free speech and political debate and were in the public interest, considering that it is undesirable to have people of questionable integrity leading public institutions, she testified as well. Ndauendapo found that Smith Howard’s remarks about //Garoëb were not true, as he had not been found guilty of the disciplinary charges he faced.

The remarks were also not fair comment, as it was not true to state that //Garoëb had stolen from his employer and was a thief, he found as well. He added: “Although I agree that politicians must expect a greater degree of criticism than the average individual and that the right to freedom of speech is guaranteed in the Constitution, politicians similarly have rights.

Politicians’ right to dignity and a good name protected by article 8 of the Namibian Constitution must not be infringed upon without justification.” Accusing someone of theft and calling him a thief are serious allegations and would lower the person’s reputation in the eyes of members of their community, Ndauendapo commented.

//Garoëb was represented by lawyer Henry Shimutwikeni.

Tuhafeni Muhongo, instructed by Tuundja Martin, represented Smith Howard.