Sacked sheriff sues Registrar

THE axed Deputy Sheriff of the High Court and Supreme Court for the district of Windhoek is now suing the Registrar of the two courts and the Minister of Justice in a bid to get his job back.

An urgent application in which Windhoek’s former acting Deputy Sheriff, De Wet Esterhuizen, is asking the High Court to order his reinstatement in the position from which he was dismissed on June 18, made a first turn in the High Court on Friday.With the Registrar’s senior counsel, Theo Frank, having questioned the urgency of Esterhuizen’s application and the little time the Registrar had been given to respond to the allegations made by Esterhuizen, Judge Johan Swanepoel postponed the case to Monday next week. He ordered that the Registrar could file further papers with the court by tomorrow to amplify her response to Esterhuizen’s case.The Registrar of the High Court and Supreme Court, Elsie Schickerling, informed Esterhuizen in a letter on June 18 that his appointment as acting Deputy Sheriff for the Windhoek district was being terminated with immediate effect.As acting Deputy Sheriff, Esterhuizen’s duties included the serving of court papers on parties involved in cases and executing court judgements, such as attaching goods in terms of court orders and holding judicial auctions to sell property under attachment.Both Esterhuizen’s parents had previously held the post of Deputy Sheriff for the Windhoek district. When his mother retired in May last year – she has since died – he was appointed as acting Deputy Sheriff in her place.In the letter in which Esterhuizen was informed of his sacking, Schickerling gave three reasons for the step.She stated Esterhuizen had failed to execute a court judgement in the case of Thorsten Hubner against Net Marketing CC, he had failed to provide reasons for his failure to execute that judgement, and he had attached movable property on a farm in the Stampriet area, which is outside the district of Windhoek, without having the necessary appointment as acting Deputy Sheriff for the district including that area.In the case he has filed to challenge the decision to terminate his contract, Esterhuizen claims he relied on a promise from the Registrar that he would be appointed as acting Deputy Sheriff until a permanent appointment in that position is made. With ten years of experience in the job – he was an assistant to his late mother as well – he believes his experience makes him the most suitable candidate for the job, Esterhuizen states.The letter he received on June 18 was a sudden and surprising development, Esterhuizen states. He claims that the decision to end his appointment as acting Deputy Sheriff was taken without him having been given an opportunity to be heard first.From the allegations in Schickerling’s letter ‘it is clear that I am alleged to have been negligent or dilatory in my work and/or that I have misconducted myself’, Esterhuizen states in an affidavit filed with the court. He adds: ‘I deny the allegations of misconduct and would have made representations should I have been given opportunity to.’He claims that the Registrar ought to have suspended him if she wanted to take action against him, and that it is only the Minister of Justice who can, after a proper investigation, dismiss him from his post. The Registrar’s actions are ‘a complete nullity and illegality’, he is charging. Esterhuizen also claims he would be suffering irreparable harm if he is not reinstated in his post. His office has an average monthly turnover of fees that it is paid of about N$339 000, and he has nine employees who would in turn lose their income if he loses his appointment as acting Deputy Sheriff, Esterhuizen has informed the court.Esterhuizen is represented by Sisa Namandje.