NAMIBIA: GOVERNANCE/NBC/30/1/19 SABANews 1
WINDHOEK – President HAGE GEINGOB of NAMIBIA has had to intervene in a case involving TWO municipal officials in the capital, WINDHOEK.
NBC News says he has ordered the Municipality to reinstate City Police Chief ABRAHAM KANIME and drop all charges against Chief Executive Officer ROBERT KAHIMISE.
It says the Head of State has taken the action after what it describes as continuous wrangling among councillors in the City Council over the TWO officials for the past THREE years.
City Police Chief KANIME has been on non-stop suspension while earning his salary; and Chief Executive Officer KAHIMISE was suspended, resumed work and was then reinstated in his post.
President GEINGOB says even though he is not familiar with the law, he has decided to issue the order to end the impasse.
He says while the councillors have been fighting without an end there has been a murder in the centre of WINDHOEK.
President GEINGOB was referring to the shooting that resulted in the death of a senior worker at the GLOBAL FUND Office while another employee was admitted at Lady POHAMBA Hospital Intensive Care Unit with bullet wounds.
Police have since arrested a GLOBAL FUND employee and charged him with murder as well as attempted murder following the incident TWO days ago.
SIMAATA SIMASIKU has appeared in the WINDHOEK Magistrate’s Court facing charges of murdering SARAH MWILIMA and attempted to murder ESTER NEPOLO.
NBC News says he has told Magistrate VANESSA STANLEY he may apply for a State-funded lawyer if he fails to get a private lawyer, after she warned him of his legal rights.
Magistrate STANLEY has remanded the case to the FIRST of MARCH to allow for further investigations and for the accused to secure a lawyer.
The State alleges Mr SIMASIKU shot colleagues MWILIMA and NEPOLO in broad daylight at the GLOBAL FUND Office in WINDHOEK City Centre.
Ms MWILIMA died instantly but Ms NEPOLO survived and was rushed to Lady POHAMBA Hospital for treatment after the shooting.
Prosecutors say they suspect a disagreement over the renewal of the arrested man’s contract, which ends at the end of MARCH, may have prompted the shooting.
The NAMIBIAN Head of State has expressed annoyance over the squabbles in the Council chambers of the capital city when the municipality needed full attention in the face of such murders./Sabanews/cam