A heated exchange has occurred between lawyer Richard Metcalfe and his former client, Reinhold Shipwikineni, whom he has accused of refusing to accept cogent legal advice.
Metcalfe has been representing Shipwikineni in a case in which he was challenging Swapo to hold an extraordinary congress in order to determine the party’s top leadership.
He withdrew his legal services a few days ago.
However, Shipwikineni has moved an application seeking a postponement of the case to 12 February so as to appoint a new legal practitioner of his choice.
He has also told the court that Metcalfe complained that he had been threatened by a high-ranking justice official in government for being “against Swapo just because he accepted the applicant’s instructions”.
Metcalfe has denied this claim, stating that his inability to represent Shipwikineni stems from the “irretrievable breakdown in the legal practitioner and client relationship”.
“Mr Shipwikineni misrepresents himself as an attorney and refuses to accept cogent legal advice.
Shipwikineni hit back, saying the lawyer was not telling the truth. He also accused Metcalfe of disrespecting his clients after financially benefitting from providing legal services.
Metcalfe insists that he has never engaged with or been threatened by a high-ranking justice official.
He adds that this was a “bald lie propagated by Mr Shipwikineni for his own self-serving purposes”.
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