Two elected councillors of the A-Right to Shelter Foundation of Namibia (A-RTS-N) have not taken office at Gobabis more than six weeks after the 26 November 2025 regional council and local authority elections.
A-RTS-N won three seats on the Gobabis Town Council, but only one of its representatives has taken office so far.
The delay stems from a dispute over who has the authority to swear in the two councillors and whether they can be blocked from taking office.
The situation escalated last week after the association formally suspended and withdrew its sitting councillor, Dina Fillemon.
Fillemon was also sworn in as the town’s deputy mayor.
In a letter dated 7 January addressed to Gobabis municipality chief executive Sophia Eises, the association said Fillemon “has been suspended from active duty or as representative of the association with effect from 7 January 2026, pending the finalisation of the ensuing disciplinary action”.
It further informed the municipality that it had resolved to “in terms of section 13(1)(g) of the Local Authorities Act, withdraw Ms Fillemon as member of the town council and representative of the association from the Town Council of Gobabis”.
The association cited a High Court precedent in Nghidimbwa v Swapo Party of Namibia, noting that political parties and associations have the right to withdraw councillors they deploy, provided fair procedures are followed.
It told the municipality that Fillemon had been given an opportunity to be heard and that a replacement councillor would be nominated.
However, while the association moved to remove its existing councillor, the municipality has yet to swear in the two remaining A-RTS-N councillors elected in November.
In a separate letter dated 7 January, Eises told the association that its earlier request for the swearing in of the two councillors had been referred to the minister of urban and rural development.
“As you may be aware, the authority to determine and facilitate the swearing in of local authority councillors rests with the minister,” Eises wrote.
She added that the matter had been forwarded to urban minister James Sankwasa “for further review and appropriate action”.
A-RTS-N has rejected that position as unlawful.
In a response dated 8 January, the association said the minister does not have the discretion to delay the swearing in of duly elected councillors.
According to Section 9 of the Local Authorities Act, a councillor holds office “from the date on which he or she is elected as such a member”.
“Your assertion that our members ought to be sworn in upon the discretion of the minister is a misdirection and such misdirection cannot prejudice us by inordinately delaying the swearing in of our members on behalf of the electorate,” A-RTS-N legal representative Veronia Mokaleng said.
The association further argued that blocking the councillors from assuming office violates the Constitution.
“The right mentioned supra and the right afforded further in Article 17(2) are fundamental human rights, therefore, these rights cannot be limited arbitrarily,” Mokaleng said.
A-RTS-N also told the municipality that its councillors would present themselves for swearing in.
“We cannot allow the denial of our followers and members their right to the choices they opted to make during the elections by failing to participate in council business” she said.
The association has claimed that a magistrate was willing to administer the oath of office, saying this showed the process was lawful.
“Should our request have been unlawful, then the magistrate would have had a problem and declined to administer the oaths,” it wrote.
The induction of new councillors at Gobabis is due to start on 18 January, but A-RTS-N says its elected representatives remain locked out.
Efforts to reach the Gobabis municipality for comment were unsuccessful by the time of publication.
Questions sent to Sankwasa were also not responded to.
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