Renthia Kaimbi
The Kunene Regional Council is refusing to remove acting chief regional officer George Kamseb despite a second High Court ruling declaring his appointment unlawful.
The standoff with urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa now threatens a complete administrative shutdown.
Sankwasa has frozen government funding to the council, demanding the appointment of an acting chief regional officer who would be legally qualified to account for state funds.
The minister has warned that without a properly appointed accounting officer, public money cannot be disbursed to the region.
Council chairperson Western Muharukua told the Windhoek Observer that Kamseb cannot be removed pending the outcome of an appeal against the High Court judgement delivered by Judge Esi Schimming-Chase on 27 October 2025.
“Council cannot implement a decision from a consultation meeting with the minister. We need to convene an extraordinary meeting because the resolution needs a resolution number,” Muharukua said.
The High Court had declared the council’s 2021 resolution reinstating Kamseb invalid, finding that the council had failed to consult former minister, Erastus Uutoni before taking the decision.
The court had also noted that the Regional Councils Act does not provide for reinstatement after the expiry of a fixed-term contract and ordered the council to advertise the position within 30 days.
Following the court ruling, a second default judgement was recently issued maintaining that the council implement the earlier court order seeking Kamseb’s removal.
However, Muharukua ridiculed the second judgement, questioning how Sankwasa obtained it in the absence of the council’s legal representative.
“The minister launched a High Court case to release a court order that ordered the first judgement should be implemented pending the outcome of the Supreme Court’s judgement on the appeal. How he did that, I don’t know. How come the implemented judgement didn’t go through our lawyer? We should have gone to defend the matter in court but a default judgement was taken,” Muharukua charged.
He further stated that the council had since parted ways with legal practitioner Norman Tjombe following the default judgement. “We had to abandon our lawyer and opted to have another lawyer,” he said.
In a letter dated 25 June 2026 seen by the Windhoek Observer, Sankwasa gave the council two options to release state funds and salaries for the month of June.
The options were to either remove Kamseb and appoint an acting chief regional officer who would account for state funds, or second two council employees to process payroll from the ministry.
Muharukua said the council opted for the second option but questioned why regional matters should be dealt with at national level.
The chairperson further charged that Sankwasa’s decision to block the council’s funds was politically motivated, an accusation Sankwasa has denied.
“In the absence of a legally appointed accounting officer, who should be held accountable for the receipt and disbursement of State monies subvented to Kunene Regional Council and be held liable should such money be mismanaged? What will (happen) in a situation where Mr Khamseb embezzles the State money and claims that he is not an employee of Council,” Sankwasa asked.
Sankwasa questioned why the council was appealing the court-ordered removal of Kamseb when the judgement was not made against the council.
“Why is the council appealing? What’s in it for them that they are appealing? I asked them to answer that question. The acting CRO can appeal, but also, the second judgement cannot be appealed,” the minister explained.
The letter further questioned why Kamseb was being paid a monthly salary labelled as “subsistence and travel allowance.”
To this, Muharukua said Kamseb was only receiving subsistence and travel allowances for official meetings attended, including meetings with the minister, adding that Kamseb is unable to be paid without a salary number, which the ministry is allegedly withholding.
“He is not receiving S&T equivalent to his salary,” Muhurukua added.
The minister also alleged that the council went out of its way to issue tenders and sign contracts in January and February 2026 when they knew the financial year would end in March and there would be no budget for such contracted amounts.
“The Ministry (government) is thrown at the deep end of the sea to try to find money to pay for your usual irregular financial management,” Sankwasa wrote in the letter.
Muharukua maintains that implementing the court order would be done against legal proceedings pending the outcome of the appeal, insisting that once an appeal is filed, the enforcement of a High Court judgement is automatically suspended until the Supreme Court delivers a final ruling.
Employees at the regional council now doubt whether they will receive their July salaries as the standoff continues.
The council has argued that only an extraordinary council meeting can resolve to remove Kamseb, and that such a resolution cannot be taken from a consultation meeting with the minister.
Kamseb’s troubles began in 2016 when he was suspended over allegations related to undue interference in the tender process, the unauthorised expenditure of council funds, and the appointment of consultants without council approval.
His fixed-term contract subsequently expired in October 2018 while he remained suspended.
Nearly three years later, in May 2021, the council passed a resolution reinstating him for a two-year period in exchange for dropping all monetary claims against the council, a decision the High Court later declared invalid.
