Suspended councillors reinstated with salaries

The //Kharas Regional Council has agreed to reinstate Swapo councillors Lazarus Nangolo, Susan Ndjaleka and Taimy Kanyemba with salaries.

A joint status report issued by the High Court on 21 February says the parties reached a partial agreement on 18 February to reinstate the Swapo councillors who were previously suspended without remuneration.

A court order regarding the matter has not been issued yet, with proceedings postponed for two weeks as of 21 February.

The agreement was reached by the parties after the Swapo regional councillors, along with their party, on 11 February filed an urgent application in the High Court to enforce a Supreme Court ruling that reinstated the three councillors with salaries after their dismissal in January 2024.

After defying the Supreme Court order to reinstate the councillors, the regional council suspended the remuneration of the councillors in June 2024.

The urgent application sought for the respondents to be declared guilty of contempt of court due to their failure to adhere to directives aimed at reinstating the three councillors, given on 9 February 2024, and again on 6 September 2024.

Furthermore, the application requested that the respondents be given a sentence of six months in prison, with an additional request for them to hand themselves over to the police within a specified timeframe.

If they failed to comply, the police were tasked with arresting them and transferring them to a correctional facility.

The respondents are council chairperson Joseph Isaacks, Anseline Beukes, Jeremias Goeieman, Willem Labuschagne, followed by the //Kharas Regional Council, acting chief regional officer Ralph Sachika, and the Landless People’s Movement.
The ruling was made in favour of the three councillors, who had filed a lawsuit against Isaacks and his co-respondents on 25 January, alleging unlawful termination without remuneration from the council.

However, since last year, the directive has not been followed as ordered, prompting Nangolo and his co-applicants to motion an urgent application seeking to hold the respondents in contempt of court.

The three councillors, all from Swapo, were relieved of their duties without remuneration for allegedly not attending council meetings and refusing to accept council management committee positions.

They sought legal recourse at the High Court for reinstatement on 9 February 2024. But before the High Court application was heard, a settlement agreement was reached between the parties.

The councillors then brought a further application in August, with the court ruling in their favour, ordering their reinstatement.

The court also ordered that the //­Kharas Regional Council chairperson and the regional council jointly pay the legal costs of the councillors and Swapo. However, none of these court orders were complied with by the //Kharas Regional Council.

The applicants were represented by Sisa Namandje, while Dr Weder, Kauta and Hoveka legal practitioners represented the //­Kharas Regional Council.