Africa-Press – Namibia. Three outgoing Karasburg Town Council members have made a second appearance in the Windhoek High Court, where a trial on three charges under the Anti-Corruption Act awaits them.
The three councillors, a former town council member and a fifth accused are charged with three counts of corruptly using their offices or positions in a public body to obtain gratification.
The five accused, who appeared before deputy judge president Hannelie Prinsloo for a pretrial hearing yesterday, are Karasburg mayor Maria Veldskoen, Karasburg Town Council members Joseph Witbooi and Gregorius Ruhl, former town council member Cecilia Clarke and a former acting chief executive officer (CEO) of the Karasburg Town Council, Hansina Isaacks.
The charges they are facing emanate from the appointment of Isaacks as acting CEO of the Karasburg Town Council in 2023, the appointment of a personal assistant for Veldskoen in 2023, and the creation of new staff positions that allegedly were not part of the approved organisational structure of the local authority.
The state is alleging that the accused orchestrated the secondment of Isaacks from the Keetmanshoop municipality to the Karasburg Town Council and appointed her as acting CEO in June 2023, when she could not be appointed in that position because she was not a staff member of the Karasburg Town Council.
It is also alleged that Isaacks was appointed as acting CEO with monthly remuneration of N$26 000 without the prior written approval of the then minister of urban and rural development, Erastus Uutoni.
The state is alleging that Isaacks was appointed after the previous acting CEO, Erika Nehunga, was relieved of her position in June 2023.
That was allegedly after Nehunga declined to carry out an instruction from the Karasburg Town Council to furnish an appointment letter for a personal assistant for Veldskoen as mayor.
The state is also alleging that the town council went ahead with the appointment of a personal assistant after Nehunga advised the council that the appointment contravened recruitment and selection regulations for local authority councils under the Local Authorities Act of 1992.
The town council members received letters from Uutoni in which they were instructed to reverse the appointments of Isaacks and the personal assistant, which were alleged to have been illegal, but defied the minister’s directives, the state is alleging as well.
After Isaacks’ appointment as acting CEO, six new positions which were not part of the approved organisational structure of the Karasburg Town Council were advertised and the accused began to fill the positions, contrary to the prescribed process set out in the Local Authorities Act and in recruitment and selection regulations for local authorities, it is also alleged in the state’s charges against the accused.
The six new positions were allegedly created and filled between August and October 2023.
The pretrial court appearance of the five accused yesterday ended with their case being postponed to 21 January.
The accused are all free on a warning from the court.
Veldskoen, Witbooi, Ruhl and Clarke are being represented by defence counsel Percy McNally. Defence lawyer Kadhila Amoomo is representing Isaacks.
Deputy prosecutor general Cliff Lutibezi represented the state.
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