Popular Democratic Movement parliamentarian Inna Hengari has questioned the disbursement of N$1.26 million in legal fees related to suspended Katima Mulilo Town Council chief executive Raphael Liswaniso.
Liswaniso was suspended last year over alleged mismanagement.
Hengari posed questions to urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
“Despite the full disciplinary hearing not yet having commenced, this expenditure, allegedly, pertains to preliminary legal processes,” she said.
Between 27 December 2025 and 6 February, Hengari said five expedited payments were disbursed to two law firms for handling the matter: N$862 921 and N$399 050, totaling N$1.26 million.
She said it is also understood that the council had allocated N$1 million for legal affairs in the 2025/26 financial year.
“In light of our obligation to administrative justice under Article 18 of the Namibian Constitution, which mandates that administrative bodies and officials act fairly, reasonably, and in compliance with law, while aggrieved persons retain the right to seek redress, this pattern of councils getting caught up in costly, protracted legal battles raises serious concern,” Hengari said.
She said such entanglements not only deplete scarce public resources but also paralyse essential development, effectively holding residents hostage to administrative gridlock instead of advancing their constitutional right to dignified living conditions.
Hengari is now demanding answers over the council’s repeated failure to deliver on long-standing promises of affordable land and housing for residents, among other commitments.
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