A past holder of the Mr Gay Namibia title, Wendelinus Hamutenya, has been ordered to pay N$40 000 to an organisation representing former members of Swapo’s armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (Plan).
Judge David Munsu ordered in the Oshakati High Court on Monday that Hamutenya, who now identifies as the transgender woman, Maria Del Rosario Hamutenya, must pay N$40 000 to the Former Plan Combatants Association because of defamatory remarks that she made about the organisation’s members in July 2023.
The association sued Hamutenya for N$1.5 million in a defamation claim against her filed in October 2023.
Munsu recorded in his judgement on Monday that the organisation claimed Hamutenya made defamatory statements about its members in a video clip circulated on social media platforms on 2 July 2023.
The organisation complained that Hamutenya had stated its members were sexually promiscuous, were witches and practised witchcraft, Munsu recounted.
The association also claimed that Hamutenya had called its members stupid, claiming that their brains were upside down and backward, among other things.
The association further alleged that Hamutenya wrongly accused its members of being antagonistic to people in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and other (LGBTQI+) community, and that they had insulted Hamutenya and other LGBTQI+ people.
According to the association, Hamutenya’s statements were “wrongful, malicious false, demeaning and unlawful”.
A lawyer representing Hamutenya initially notified the court that she intended to oppose the legal action taken against her. The lawyer withdrew from the matter in June last year and after Hamutenya failed to appear in court following that, Munsu struck her defence to the claim and the matter proceeded as an unopposed case.
Munsu recorded in his judgement: “The plaintiff asserts that, as a result of the defamatory statements, its members have been humiliated and degraded, with their reputation and dignity being gravely injured. Additionally, it is claimed that the plaintiff’s members have been subjected to ridicule and stigma and have been ostracised as witches.”
He went on to state: “Apart from being derogatory, the statements and insinuations made by [Hamutenya] concerning the members of the [association] are defamatory. They tend to lower the plaintiff’s members in the estimation of right-thinking members of society.”
Munsu also noted that Hamutenya failed to rebut the association’s case in court, despite having promised to do so in a newspaper report.
“It is considered that the statements had a wide circulation and were viewed by a lot of people,” Munsu said.
“It is further considered that, despite the demand for an apology, [Hamutenya] failed to do so.”
In his view, awarding damages in an amount of N$40 000 against Hamutenya would be appropriate, Munsu said.
He also ordered Hamutenya to pay the association’s legal costs in the matter and to pay 20% interest per year on the N$40 000, until the amount has been paid.
The association was represented by lawyer Jonas Matheus.
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