Swapo Four emerge victorious

The Windhoek High Court today ordered Elijah Ngurare, Job Amupanda, Dimbulukeni Nauyoma and George Kambala to be reinstated as Swapo members, but did not order for the restoration of their leadership positions.

Amupanda said that the victory meant that a very important question of justice was answered. He said that the court stood on the side of truth and justice.

‘This is a great day for justice,’ Ngurare said.

Delivering the judgement this morning in a packed courtroom in the high court, judge Collins Parker found the suspension unlawful and thus ordered that it be set aside. He also found that their expulsion is null and void.

Mentioning that the respondent is a party and the applicants all being individuals, judge Parker ordered that the Swapo party pay 60% of the applicants ‘ legal costs.

Kambala, Amupanda and Nauyoma were suspended in November 2014 while Ngurare was expelled with them in July last year.

The four asked the High Court to declare their expulsion and suspension from the ruling party unlawful as well as null and void.

Former SPYL spokesperson Amupanda together with Kambala and Nauyoma were controversially kicked out of Swapo for their occupation of a piece of land in Kleine in November 2014 which launched the Affirmative Repositioning movement.

Former SPYL secretary Ngurare was expelled for supporting them.

During court proceedings in February, Swapo ‘s senior counsel Vas Soni accused AR of wanting to destabilise the country as well as Swapo.

Soni asked the court to dismiss the case because it was a political issue and not a legal one which required the court ‘s intervention. He said there was a political battle within Swapo and that the courts did not have the resources to deal with such disputes. acirc; euro; uml;

His opponent Vincent Maleka, who represented the expelled quartet, argued that it was not a political case but a legal one since the party failed to follow its own internal procedures and laws when it decided to expel the four.

Judge Parker today commented that the four were not given an opportunity to be heard.

The courtroom was filled with cheers and songs of victory after the judge left for his chambers.

‘Viva justice!’ shouted the excited audience in the courtroom.

Swapo ‘s legal secretary Albert Kawana and deputy secretary general Laura McLeod Katjirua and Helmut Angula left the court soon after the judgement.

The street outside the court also saw a small crowd celebrate the applicants as they left court.

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