Geingob’s lawyer rejects Lubowski response

PRESIDENT Hage Geingob’s lawyers say they do not accept the statement issued by Gabrielle Lubowski as an apology.

Sisa Namandje, Geingob’s legal representative, told yesterday that they will take legal action if Lubowski does not issue an unconditional apology and a retraction.

“We demanded nothing of that kind,” he said. “We want a clear and unconditional apology and retraction.”

Namandje was reacting to a response directed to his firm yesterday by Lubowski, ex-wife of the late Swapo member and struggle icon Anton Lubowski, who was shot outside his home in Windhoek on the evening of 12 September 1989.

Lubowski was killed during the run-up to the United Nations-supervised elections that ushered in Namibia’s independence in 1990.

“We will respond to her formally tomorrow [today], and inform her that the legal action is going ahead, unless she clearly and unconditionally withdraws those statements, tenders an apology, and attaches no conditions whatsoever,” the lawyer said.

Namandje appeared unconvinced by Lubowski’s sudden retraction of allegations she made in a leaked open letter that she had addressed to Geingob, adding that she deliberately publicised the letter with no evidence to support her claims. In her response yesterday, Lubowski said the letter she wrote, which was leaked to the public last week, was not intended for public distribution, and had been misinterpreted as an attempt to defame the president.

“[I] wish to state that it was still a draft version shared among a small circle for their review, and therefore had not been polished for release to the wider public. I, at no point, intended to accuse or defame Dr Geingob,” she wrote.

Lubowski said her open letter was an attempt to find answers about the circumstances surrounding her ex-husband’s death.

“My letter was not intended to cast aspersions on the president in relation to Anton’s death, but rather to compel him to sit down and have the person-to-person conversation I have sought for all of these years,” she wrote.

She added that she was more than willing to apologise for anything that has been misinterpreted as defamatory towards the president, and that she remained hopeful he would understand her intentions, and grant her the opportunity to meet him.

“That was absolutely not my intention. I wrote as a widow, and mother of two children who lost their father, looking for answers from one of the few people who may have something that could comfort us,” she said.

Last week, reported that in the leaked letter, Lubowski alleged that she had been trying for 30 years to get an audience with Geingob, and that his refusal to meet her had led her to accept that Geingob had admitted guilt over the murder of Anton Lubowski, who was killed at the age of 37.

Thereafter, the president’s lawyers demanded an immediate retraction and apology from her before 24 June.

In his initial response to Lubowski last week, Namandje said the allegations against Geingob were defamatory and fabricated. He also said if Lubowski failed to issue an apology, they would consider instituting a defamation claim through the courts.

“You knew that there is no truth in the allegations you made, and you further knew that the allegations would necessarily tarnish our client’s good name, and depict him as a person not worthy of serving the people of Namibia as the president,” he added.

Despite acknowledging her change in tune, Namandje remained firm that an unconditional apology is the only way for Lubowski to avoid litigation.

Regarding her request to have a meeting with the president, Namandje said his client was not going to be backed into a corner to make a commitment of any kind.

“We are not going to entertain that. The president is not going to first indicate whether he will meet her if she apologises. She must unconditionally apologise, then who knows,” he said. “My client is not going to be driven by somebody who accused him.”

Lubowski refused to make any further comment beyond yesterday’s response.

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