Hertta-Maria Amutenja
Activist and member of the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF), Michael Amushelelo, is facing legal threats after attempting to shut down a shop in the Okuryangava area of Windhoek earlier this week.
Amushelelo, undeterred despite receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the law firm Dr Weder, Kauta & Hoveka Inc., is accused of engaging in what the firm describes as “chaotic behaviour of intimidation, harassment, and unlawful instigation of protests and disruption” of their client’s business affairs.
In the letter, the law firm urges Amushelelo to cease his actions, warning of potential legal consequences, including opening a case with the Namibian Police for trespassing.
“It is our instructions that you have unlawfully and without authority attended to our client’s supermarket at Okurangava Old Lyeeta in Katutura and demanded its immediate closure, demanding customers to vacate the shop as you were ‘shutting it down.’ We further caution you to the fact that your conduct constitutes a breach of our client’s constitutional rights as contemplated in Articles 10, 16, and 21 of the Namibian Constitution. Our client further reserves the right to sue you for defamation and loss of income,” the letter from the law firm reads.
However, Amushelelo, who was recently cautioned and released by the police, remains unrepentant and declared victory after what he perceives as an attempt by the “corrupt government” to arrest him yesterday, asserting his innocence, claiming that he had done nothing wrong.
In response to the legal threats, he stated on his social media platforms, “They [lawyers] should advise their clients to immediately take back the suspended workers if they don’t wish for their client to lose more money because failure for them to meet our demands by 12h00 tomorrow [Wednesday] will result in a total shutdown of all Rani Group shops. These Indians have money to run to lawyers, but do not want to hire workers directly; instead, they use labour-hire companies to exploit our people.”
Amushelelo referred to the suspension of employees working at Rani shops in Oshakati after they participated in a protest about their working conditions.
“They should keep in mind that I am not one of those fake politicians who make empty promises; I am a leader who leads by action,” he emphasised.
Furthermore, NEFF has issued a statement condemning the recent dismissal of over 100 workers from the Rani Group, denouncing the retaliatory actions taken by Employee Placement Services of Namibia (EPSN) against workers who participated in a NEFF-organised protest in Oshakati.
NEFF Deputy Commander in Chief Kalimbo Iipumbu, said the punitive measures taken by EPSN are seen as a vindictive attempt to suppress the voices of the marginalised, and NEFF calls upon the affected workers to resist this oppression with all their might.
Kalimbo further said NEFF, in collaboration with affected workers, has previously submitted a petition to Oshana Governor Elia Irimari and the Rani Group, shedding light on exploitative contract labour practices perpetuated by EPSN and other labour hire organisations in Namibia.
