City retailer gets interdict against Amushelelo, union

A Windhoek High Court judge on Friday issued an interdict prohibiting social activist Michael Amushelelo from disrupting the business of a shop in the Okuryangava area of Windhoek.

In the interdict granted by acting judge Kobus Miller on Friday afternoon, Amushelelo and the unregistered National Union of Retail Industry Workers of Namibia, of which Amushelelo is the general secretary, have been ordered not to blockade the entrances to the business premises of Namica Supermarket in Okuryangava and not to prevent employees, customers and service providers of the shop from entering and exiting the retailer’s premises.

Amushelelo and the union have also been ordered not to make threats to shut down Namica Supermarket or to burn down the shop, and not to unlawfully intimidate Namica Supermarket, its employees, customers and service providers.

The court’s interdict is in force until 3 June at this stage.

In an affidavit filed at the court, the owner of Namica Supermarket, Antonio de Azevedo, says Amushelelo made threats against his business in a letter on 15 April, and followed that up by visiting the shop and disrupting its operations on 24 and 25 April.

De Azevedo claims Amushelelo blocked the entrance to Namica Supermarket when he visited it on Wednesday (24 April) and brought business to a halt for three hours, resulting in a loss of about N$150 000 in sales.

A video recording shows that Amushelelo also made a threat that if complaints about the treatment of shop employees were not resolved, the shop would either be closed or would catch fire, De Azevedo says.

According to De Azevedo he registered a complaint against Amushelelo with the Namibian Police, after police officers who were called to his shop appeared to be afraid of taking action against him.

Namica Supermarket employs more than 120 employees and casual workers, De Azevedo informed the court as well.

In the letter sent to Namica Supermarket, Amushelelo demanded that cashiers and packers employed by the shop should have a basic monthly salary of N$5 000, while casual employees should be paid a minimum of N$150 a day. Other demands were also made.

He warned in the letter that the National Union of Retail Industry Workers of Namibia, which is not an officially registered trade union, would take “drastic action” against Namica Supermarket which would result in “reputational damages as well as massive financial losses”.

“We are not one of this Mickey Mouse Unions, we are Militant Union that Fights for the Dignity of our People,” (sic) Amushelelo stated in the letter.

He also warned that “should the company desire to be Funny, we will most certainly give you a Circus Show” (sic).
Lawyer Norman Tjombe represented Namica Supermarket in its urgent application against Amushelelo and the union, who did not attend the hearing before Miller.

A retail group, Rani Traders, and grain processing company Namib Mills obtained similar interdicts against Amushelelo in the Windhoek High Court in December last year and near the start of April this year, respectively.