Nujoma sues for N$5 million

FORMER head of state and President of Swapo, Sam Nujoma, is suing The Namibian for N$5 million because, he alleges, the newspaper implied he is corrupt.

In a summons, lawyers for Nujoma claim that by reporting on evidence given during a public inquiry on the Avid-SSC case last year, the newspaper implied that Nujoma: * abused his position as the President of Namibia to advance personal financial benefit in Avid; * is a corrupt leader; * wanted to conceal his corrupt dealings in Avid and State entities, such as the Social Security Commission (SSC); * was a person of low moral scruple. The claim relates to a report published on August 10 2005.Headlined ‘Nujoma named in Avid Scandal’ and written by senior reporter Werner Menges, it quoted from an affidavit submitted to a Companies Act hearing in the High Court by Avril Green, former manager at the Social Security Commission (SSC).The Companies Act Inquiry, held last August under the chairmanship of Acting Judge Raymond Heathcote, probed the abortive N$30 million investment the SSC made with Avid Investment Corporation.The case turned into a sensational unveiling of corrupt deals which made headlines for weeks, capturing the public imagination because of the array of prominent players in the drama that subsequently unfolded in the hearing.The expose toppled a number of big names in Namibia.Among others, it led to the demise of the then SSC Chief Executive Officer, Tuli Hiveluah, who quit his post on the eve of a disciplinary hearing; the discrediting of former Swapo Youth League Secretary Paulus Kapia, who gave up a ministerial post following the adverse publicity; the dismissal of several senior staff from the parastatal; and, most sensational of all, the shooting death of Lazarus Kandara in front of the Windhoek Police station as he was being taken into custody.THE AFFIDAVIT The Green affidavit, which forms the basis of the former President’s legal action against The Namibian, alleged that the SSC man had been approached by Ralph Blaauw, former Swapo MP and then acting Secretary General of the National Youth Council, on January 3 last year.”He [Blaauw] told me that he had been sent by higher authority to introduce Avid Investment Corporation (Pty) Ltd to the SSC.He told me that he represents Avid … and that 80 per cent of the shares in the Investment Company belongs to the Swapo Party Youth League which resorts under the President of Namibia.He also told me that the President had a share in the company but that it would not be disclosed anywhere,” Green said in the affidavit.In the summons, served on The Namibian on Friday, Sisa Namandje & Co, acting for Nujoma, claim the newspaper defamed Nujoma by supposedly alleging that Nujoma secretly held shares in Avid Investment Corporation (Pty) Ltd and wanted to conceal that fact from the public in Namibia.The summons further charges that The Namibian published the report “unlawfully, with the intention to injure the plaintiff in his reputation, and thereby lower his esteem in the right-thinking members of the community in Namibia, and abroad; recklessly, without any attempt to establish the truth of those statements; when they should have known that those statements could not reasonably be true”.Further that the report had been published “when the plaintiff (Nujoma) had been recognised and regarded to be the father of the Namibian nation, having regard to the contribution he made in the liberation and emancipation of the Namibian nation from political oppression, establishment of democratic institutions in Namibia and promoting accountable government that was free from corruption”.As a result, the summons continues, “the plaintiff has suffered damages in the sum of N$5 million”.The day after publication of the report that Nujoma had been named in the inquiry, an event widely covered by other media inside Namibia and abroad, the former President himself called a press conference to refute the claims.This too, was prominently published on the front page of The Namibian in an article headlined ‘Nujoma says Avid claims ridiculous’ on August 12 2005.The Namibian’s Menges, named as the second defendant in the summons, said the report was based on a sworn affidavit that was filed with the court during a public hearing.He added that if the former President wanted to sue the newspaper and himself for “trying to do our job and to inform the public on what happens in an open court hearing, then so be it”.The Namibian has instructed its lawyers to defend the action.The claim relates to a report published on August 10 2005.Headlined ‘Nujoma named in Avid Scandal’ and written by senior reporter Werner Menges, it quoted from an affidavit submitted to a Companies Act hearing in the High Court by Avril Green, former manager at the Social Security Commission (SSC).The Companies Act Inquiry, held last August under the chairmanship of Acting Judge Raymond Heathcote, probed the abortive N$30 million investment the SSC made with Avid Investment Corporation.The case turned into a sensational unveiling of corrupt deals which made headlines for weeks, capturing the public imagination because of the array of prominent players in the drama that subsequently unfolded in the hearing.The expose toppled a number of big names in Namibia.Among others, it led to the demise of the then SSC Chief Executive Officer, Tuli Hiveluah, who quit his post on the eve of a disciplinary hearing; the discrediting of former Swapo Youth League Secretary Paulus Kapia, who gave up a ministerial post following the adverse publicity; the dismissal of several senior staff from the parastatal; and, most sensational of all, the shooting death of Lazarus Kandara in front of the Windhoek Police station as he was being taken into custody.THE AFFIDAVIT The Green affidavit, which forms the basis of the former President’s legal action against The Namibian, alleged that the SSC man had been approached by Ralph Blaauw, former Swapo MP and then acting Secretary General of the National Youth Council, on January 3 last year.”He [Blaauw] told me that he had been sent by higher authority to introduce Avid Investment Corporation (Pty) Ltd to the SSC.He told me that he represents Avid … and that 80 per cent of the shares in the Investment Company belongs to the Swapo Party Youth League which resorts under the President of Namibia.He also told me that the President had a share in the company but that it would not be disclosed anywhere,” Green said in the affidavit.In the summons, served on The Namibian on Friday, Sisa Namandje & Co, acting for Nujoma, claim the newspaper defamed Nujoma by supposedly alleging that Nujoma secretly held shares in Avid Investment Corporation (Pty) Ltd and wanted to conceal that fact from the public in Namibia.The summons further charges that The Namibian published the report “unlawfully, with the intention to injure the plaintiff in his reputation, and thereby lower his esteem in the right-thinking members of the community in Namibia, and abroad; recklessly, without any attempt to establish the truth of those statements; when they should have known that those statements could not reasonably be true”.Further that the report had been published “when the plaintiff (Nujoma) had been recognised and regarded to be the father of the Namibian nation, having regard to the contribution he made in the liberation and emancipation of the Namibian nation from political oppression, establishment of democratic institutions in Namibia and promoting accountable government that was free from corruption”.As a result, the summons continues, “the plaintiff has suffered damages in the sum of N$5 million”.The day after publication of the report that Nujoma had been named in the inquiry, an event widely covered by other media inside Namibia and abroad, the former President himself called a press conference to refute the claims.This too, was prominently published on the front page of The Namibian in an article headlined ‘Nujoma says Avid claims ridiculous’ on August 12 2005.The Namibian’s Menges, named as the second defendant in the summons, said the report was ba
sed on a sworn affidavit that was filed with the court during a public hearing.He added that if the former President wanted to sue the newspaper and himself for “trying to do our job and to inform the public on what happens in an open court hearing, then so be it”.The Namibian has instructed its lawyers to defend the action.