Accused of sharing settlement payouts with senior officials
• Chief medical officer demands 10 years’ payout records
• Govt spent N$14.7m on medical claims between 2019 and 2024
• About N$5.5m spent over past year
Health minister Esperance Luvindao has raised concerns over delays in a nationwide medico-legal training programme as allegations of malpractice and costly compensation claims pile up.
In an email to executive director of health and social services Penda Ithindi on 3 June Luvindao said she had asked for chief medical officer of legal support services Dr Ife Ofunne to coordinate the programme.
“I had requested that Dr Ofunne be placed in charge of running a nationwide medico-legal training programme,” she writes.
The minister says she had also requested a timeline and curriculum for the training, but had not received them.
“And in the meantime, medico-legal cases keep building up,” she says.
In the mail she instructs officials to submit the information by the close of business that day.
Luvindao’s email comes as allegations have emerged that some government lawyers are mishandling health-related legal cases, potentially costing the state millions of dollars.
Some government lawyers are accused of working with senior ministry officials to mishandle cases and share settlement payouts with claimants and their lawyers. Others are accused of settling claims too quickly without proper checks.
Auditor general reports show that between 2019 and 2024, the health ministry spent nearly N$14.7 million on compensation claims.
The matter reached the Cabinet, which approved the transfer of Ofunne from the ||Kharas region to the ministry’s legal services division. Former secretary to Cabinet George Simataa confirmed the transfer in a letter dated 12 December 2024.
The appointment took effect from 18 January 2025 until 17 January 2027.
‘EVIDENCE OF CORRUPTION’
On 8 October 2025, Ofunne demanded a full record of all medico-legal payouts made over the previous 10 years, including court judgements, out-of-court settlements and direct compensation.
In a letter to senior officials Theo-Ben Kandetu and Sara Nghishidimbwa, Ofunne said preliminary investigations had found “substantial evidence of ongoing malpractice and corruption – both deliberate and/or resulting from poor governance, inadequate oversight, and lack of technical competence among certain officers”.
Kandetu is the deputy executive director, while Nghishidimbwa is a legal officer with the attorney general, seconded to the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Ofunne said the continued presence of some officials in key positions was “of serious concern” for the handling of medico-legal matters.
He warned that failure to provide the requested information by 17 October 2025 would “result in the immediate activation of corruption reporting and accountability mechanisms available under the laws of the Republic of Namibia”.
No response was received.
Instead, Nghishidimbwa, through her lawyers, accused Ofunne of harassment and unprofessional conduct. They said his emails were “calculated to embarrass, intimidate, and undermine our client in her professional environment”.
The lawyers demanded that he stop contacting her directly, apologise publicly and follow the ministry’s reporting hierarchy.
Kandetu and Nghishidimbwa both declined to comment by the time of going to print.
Ofunne said he was not allowed to speak to the media.
Questions were also raised about how medical expert opinions are obtained for court cases.
Windhoek Central Hospital medical superintendent Shitaleni Herman wrote to Ithindi on 2 March, saying the hospital had repeatedly received requests directly from the ministry’s legal services division despite the existence of a chief medical officer responsible for medico-legal matters.
“We are hereby proposing that all requests for medical expert opinions in legal matters first be directed to and coordinated through the chief medical officer in the legal department,” Herman wrote.
Senior legal officer Deon Ndana acknowledged shortcomings in the process.
“Certainly there was a failure in terms of how this matter was handled . . . I trust a lasting solution can be found to prevent a repeat of the same issues in future.”
Another senior legal officer Cynthia Endjambi told Nghishidimbwa that “I shall not jeopardise my reputation and good standing in court on account of your inaction”.
Information from the auditor general’s office shows the health ministry paid compensation in 45 claims between 2019 and 2024, costing taxpayers almost N$14.7 million.
The reports do not provide details of the individual claims, and the ministry has declined to release them.
In 2024, ministry spokesperson Walters Kamaya said medical negligence claims against the state mostly involved complications during childbirth.
Media reports show the ministry has paid at least N$5.5 million over the past year alone.
These include N$450 000 paid in May to settle a claim brought by the family of a teenager allegedly raped while in a coma at Katutura Intermediate Hospital, N$5 million paid in March to a man left dependent on dialysis after Windhoek Central Hospital allegedly removed the wrong kidney during surgery, part of a N$1.9-million payout ordered in November 2025 to a man whose leg was amputated after surgery, and about N$150 000 paid to a woman who sued after being left in labour for three days. Her premature baby later died.
In February, government attorney Ruth Nghishekwa asked the ministry to compensate an alleged victim and proposed a payment plan.
Ofunne responded that he had not been briefed on the matter.
“Please be advised that I am not in a position to comment on the issue of quantum, as I have no prior knowledge of this case.”
He questioned whether the state was too quick to accept liability instead of testing cases in court.
“It appears we have limited jurisprudence on this matter, possibly because our approach often focuses on apportioning blame and accepting liability rather than rigorously testing the merits of cases through the courts.”
He also questioned the use of South African court practices.
“It may perhaps be useful for us to consider testing our own court processes rather than adopting financial liability frameworks from foreign jurisdictions.”
The Namibia Public Workers Union has also raised concerns about Ofunne’s treatment during a meeting on 23 February.
A presentation warns that unresolved grievances could result in the government paying large claims that were “unchecked, unverified, unjustified and likely fraudulent”.
“It flies in the face of the state’s objective to ensure justifiable and cost-effective delivery service,” the presentation says.
It says the situation also undermines the government’s decision to appoint a medical officer with legal expertise to strengthen the handling of medico-legal matters.
Kamaya, when contacted last week, referred questions to the Office of the Attorney General, which denied knowledge of the allegations.
Spokesperson Edmund //Khoaseb said the Directorate of Civil Litigation represents the health ministry in all civil cases and that all summonses and applications are defended within the required time frames.
He said the office was unaware of any cases that were deliberately not defended.
“It is, therefore, important that you provide the office with the specific details, namely case numbers and the names of the matters that you are referring to for our further consideration,” he said.
