Allexer Namundjembo
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by Alliance Media (Pty) Ltd against TransNamib Holdings Limited, ruling that the company’s claim for interest on money owed was made too early and had no legal grounds.
The recent judgement followed a hearing held on June 11, 2025, before Supreme Court judges Sylvester Mainga, Elton Hoff and acting judge Rita Makarau.
In 2013, a lease agreement gave Alliance Media exclusive rights to place outdoor advertisements on TransNamib premises.
The lease ran from 1 March 2013 to 29 February 2018 and an addendum later extended it to 28 February 2022.
In 2021, between June and July, Alliance Media paid TransNamib N$3.56 million in three installments for future lease periods, expecting that the contract would be renewed. However, TransNamib had already cancelled the lease in December 2018.
Through a later settlement, both parties agreed that TransNamib would repay the full amount by 9 April 2023.
The dispute brought before the courts was not about the repayment itself but about whether Alliance Media could claim interest on the money from the time it was paid until the repayment date.
Alliance Media argued that TransNamib had benefited from the money while waiting to repay it and that interest should therefore be paid.
The High Court had dismissed this argument, finding that when Alliance Media filed its claim, the repayment date had not yet arrived and TransNamib was not yet in default.
Hoff explained that interest is not automatically owed unless both parties agree to it or the debtor delays payment after it becomes due.
“Interest is not automatically recoverable; it would be payable only if the parties had so agreed or if the payee was in mora. In this case, the respondent was not in mora; therefore, the appellant was not entitled to claim mora interest,” he said.
He added that TransNamib could only be in default if it failed to pay after the due date or if a demand for payment had been made and ignored.
“To be in mora, there must be an enforceable debt and a delay in fulfilling it,” Hoff said, noting that no demand for early payment was made before the agreed date.
The Supreme Court ruled that Alliance Media’s claim for interest was premature.
“By the time the court was required to adjudicate, performance was not due, and the respondent had not breached its obligation.”
The court dismissed the appeal with costs, including the fees of one instructing and one instructed lawyer.
TransNamib’s request for condonation for filing its power of attorney late was granted after the court accepted that the delay was caused by an administrative mistake from its former lawyer.
