Mbok to take on Govt in court

CONTROVERSIAL housing developer Tony Mbok and his company, Dignity Housing Initiative, are suing Housing Minister John Pandeni and the Namibian Government.

Mbok gave Pandeni an ultimatum to withdraw an earlier statement, in which his transactions with poor residents of Katutura were referred to as “tantamount to crimes against humanity”. The deadline for the withdrawal of the statement lapsed at 12h00 yesterday.Mbok told The Namibian that he had not received any retraction from Pandeni or the Government and that he was going ahead with his plans to sue for defamation.He charged that Pandeni had taken away his humanity and put him in the same league as the likes of Adolf Hitler, Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein and the authors of the Rwandan genocide.Pandeni made the statement in an interview with the Informanté newspaper, which Mbok referred to as ‘Hakahana toilet paper’.He said the Government would be the second respondent because Pandeni was speaking in his official capacity as a Government representative.”Two correspondences addressed to the Minister and several telephonic attempts for over a week to reach his horrible Pandeni to discuss were in vain,” Mbok said in an e-mail reply yesterday.He said the impact of Pandeni’s statements was such that newspapers in Cameroon rewrote the article in which the comments were published and about half a dozen websites posted the story.He said the Minister’s comments were carried in newspapers in five countries – Cameroon, South Africa, Germany, the United Kingdom and Angola.”These comments of crimes against humanity were a discussion point in a ministerial meeting in Cameroon.This Minister’s misguided comments were generating so much negativity that influential politicians in Cameroon had to convince a local daily to remove from its website those irresponsible comments,” Mbok said.He said he offered Pandeni an opportunity to retract his statement to avoid a defamation suit.”This Minister had until today [yesterday] at 12h00 to do so.He chose not to.Within the next 14 days or a bit later I will file a defamation case against the Government of the Republic of Namibia and Mr John Pandeni,” Mbok said.He said Pandeni’s comments were “extremely damaging” to Dignity Housing Initiative and to his family in the United States and Cameroon.He said Dignity Housing Initiative had lodged a formal complaint against Pandeni with the Parliamentary standing committee on human resources with the aim of having the Namibian Government distance itself from his statement.”This committee’s reaction to my complaint will also dictate my next move.Pandeni would deserve to be dismissed from Government for his irresponsible statement.Not that I have the power to dismiss him but that would be my recommendation.The Prime Minister’s office has also been approached with a complaint,” Mbok said.The Namibian approached Minister Pandeni’s office for comment but was informed that he was attending a week-long workshop at Swakopmund.A message was sent to his personal assistant, Elijah Ngurare, on Monday but no reply was received.The deadline for the withdrawal of the statement lapsed at 12h00 yesterday.Mbok told The Namibian that he had not received any retraction from Pandeni or the Government and that he was going ahead with his plans to sue for defamation.He charged that Pandeni had taken away his humanity and put him in the same league as the likes of Adolf Hitler, Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein and the authors of the Rwandan genocide.Pandeni made the statement in an interview with the Informanté newspaper, which Mbok referred to as ‘Hakahana toilet paper’.He said the Government would be the second respondent because Pandeni was speaking in his official capacity as a Government representative.”Two correspondences addressed to the Minister and several telephonic attempts for over a week to reach his horrible Pandeni to discuss were in vain,” Mbok said in an e-mail reply yesterday. He said the impact of Pandeni’s statements was such that newspapers in Cameroon rewrote the article in which the comments were published and about half a dozen websites posted the story.He said the Minister’s comments were carried in newspapers in five countries – Cameroon, South Africa, Germany, the United Kingdom and Angola.”These comments of crimes against humanity were a discussion point in a ministerial meeting in Cameroon.This Minister’s misguided comments were generating so much negativity that influential politicians in Cameroon had to convince a local daily to remove from its website those irresponsible comments,” Mbok said.He said he offered Pandeni an opportunity to retract his statement to avoid a defamation suit.”This Minister had until today [yesterday] at 12h00 to do so.He chose not to.Within the next 14 days or a bit later I will file a defamation case against the Government of the Republic of Namibia and Mr John Pandeni,” Mbok said.He said Pandeni’s comments were “extremely damaging” to Dignity Housing Initiative and to his family in the United States and Cameroon.He said Dignity Housing Initiative had lodged a formal complaint against Pandeni with the Parliamentary standing committee on human resources with the aim of having the Namibian Government distance itself from his statement.”This committee’s reaction to my complaint will also dictate my next move.Pandeni would deserve to be dismissed from Government for his irresponsible statement.Not that I have the power to dismiss him but that would be my recommendation.The Prime Minister’s office has also been approached with a complaint,” Mbok said.The Namibian approached Minister Pandeni’s office for comment but was informed that he was attending a week-long workshop at Swakopmund.A message was sent to his personal assistant, Elijah Ngurare, on Monday but no reply was received.