Hertta-Maria Amutenja
Reinhold Shipwikineni has raised objections to the legal costs awarded against him after his case against Swapo and its presidential candidate, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, was struck off the court roll last October.
The High Court in December ordered Shipwikineni to pay N$382 768 in legal costs, which included N$158 500 for lawyer fees and N$224 268 in disbursement fees.
The court ordered Shipwikineni to pay the respondents’ legal fees despite striking the case from the roll.
Shipwikineni is now objecting to the legal cost award, stating it is unfair to hold him personally responsible for the costs, especially when there were five applicants in the case.
“The problem was not caused by the court but rather by the non-compliance with the rules of the High Court by our previous representative,” Shipwikineni explained.
He also expressed concern about the fact that he personally received the legal costs, even though the case involved multiple applicants.
“The demand for me to pay the legal costs in my personal capacity represents unfairness,” he added.
Shipwikineni last week filed a notice of rejection against the bill of costs, with a hearing set for 3 February.
He intends to contest the requested amount, claiming that the total is unfair.
“The high court did not determine the amount I must pay, but rather, it was demanded by the Swapo self-proclaimed lawyers after the court order,” he said.
The case, filed by Shipwikineni and four other applicants, sought to nullify Nandi-Ndaitwah’s nomination and demand an extraordinary congress to replace the late President Hage Geingob.
However, the court struck the matter off the roll last year, ruling it was improperly constituted and lacked necessary documentation, such as the return of service documents.
Shipwikineni, alongside Petrus Ndeshipanda Shituula, Joshua Vaino Martins, Erich Chrismann Shivute, and Aina Kalimba Angula, had argued that the Swapo central committee violated the party’s constitution by postponing the congress to 2025 instead of holding it within three months of Geingob’s death.
They also claimed Nandi-Ndaitwah’s nomination was ultra vires and violated Swapo’s internal rules.
“The central committee ignored constitutional provisions and acted unfairly and unreasonably in deferring the congress,” Shipwikineni said.
The court also heard that Nandi-Ndaitwah, who was officially registered as Swapo’s presidential candidate, had allegedly breached internal party rules.
Shipwikineni contended that the second respondent’s appointment was ultra vires and called for her nomination and appointments to the National Assembly list to be reviewed and set aside.
