Observer

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Retired general sues for ‘illegal detention’

Retired general sues for ‘illegal detention’

Retired major general, Thomas Ngilifavali Hamunyela has instituted legal proceedings against the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security for an alleged unlawful arrest. Hamunyela is claiming N$150 000 for unlawful arrest, N$100 000 for further detention of three days in a holding cell in January last year in Rundu and an additional N$170 000 for both claims and legal costs. “The arrest and detention were not necessary and appropriate as the members of the police did not have any fear that the plaintiff (Hamunyela) if given summons would appear in court. There was no reasonable suspicion that the…
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Unions, Govt to butt heads over strike rules….Geingob cancels overseas trips amid strike

Unions, Govt to butt heads over strike rules….Geingob cancels overseas trips amid strike

Obrein Simasiku Unions representing civil servants in the looming national strike will tomorrow butt heads with the government, as they sit to set rules to guide the picketing process, after the workers overwhelmingly voted in favour of an industrial action. About 96 percent voted in favour of the strike during the two-day voting period that ended on Friday. Meanwhile at an eleventh hour President Hage Geingob has decided to cancel his overseas State visits to Jamaica and Cuba, saying he will need to attend to the slated strike because its a pressing domestic matter. “We have a meeting with the…
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Schlettwein rebukes Aminuis uranium mining

Schlettwein rebukes Aminuis uranium mining

Tujoromajo Kasuto Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform, has slammed the prospecting for uranium in Aminuis in the Omaheke Region, where people rely heavily on underground water for survival, claiming that mining in an aquifer is potentially harmful and that it would be irresponsible to allow such potential pollution and destruction of such a valuable water resource in an otherwise dry country. Carl Schlettwein made the statement in response to the drilling of boreholes in the area by Headspring Investments’ Project Wings, a subsidiary of Uranium One, which is part of Rosatom, a Russian state-owned uranium exploration, mining, and…
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NWR exonerated in Hengari lawsuit

NWR exonerated in Hengari lawsuit

Staff Writer The absolution in the N$7.5 million defamation claim, filed by Zelna Hengari against her former employer, the Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) and the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta was rejected in the High Court of Namibia. Hengari filed a civil suit against her former employer, Shifeta, and former public enterprises minister Leon Jooste, claiming N$7.5 million for reputational damage related to a press statement issued by the board on 5 April 2018 and published in local newspapers. The press statement issued on the local newspaper relates to a 30-year joint partnership agreement between NWR and Sun…
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Facial recognition for GIFP members

Facial recognition for GIFP members

Obrein Simasiku The Government Pension Insitutions Fund (GIPF) has intensified security features, sealing loopholes of dubious payments to non-existent individuals by cheating the system, as it introduced a Biometric System which can capture both facial and fingerprints. Previously the fund heavily relied on fingerprint identification, while the new system has an added security feature of facial scanning which has a liveness detection. This is especially critical to members with disabilities in respect of their hands, or damage to fingers which may be difficult to scan, says Evans Maswahu, GIPF chairperson Benefits and Administration Committee. The new system has verification capabilities…
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Mushelenga’s dedication<br>worth emulating- Geingob

Mushelenga’s dedication
worth emulating- Geingob

Martin Endjala President Hage Geingob has reiterated that the legacy of the former refugee commissioner and Swapo veteran fighter Nkrumah Mushelenga is worth emulating in building the country and making it a better place for all. Geingob said this in his condolences message on Sunday. “I have learned with sadness of the passing on of a freedom fighter and senior civil servant, comradeNkrumah Mushelenga. On behalf of the government and the Namibian people, I extend our sincereheartfelt condolences to the children and the entire bereaved Mushelenga family,’’ Geingob expressed. Mushelenga died on the 27th July 2022. Mushelenga leaves an illustrious…
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Family of man killed by jumbo receive N$100 000

Family of man killed by jumbo receive N$100 000

Obrein Simasiku The family of the 57-year-old man who was trampled to death by an elephant at Impalila island in the Zambezi region, will receive compensation of N$100 000 from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism through its National Policy on Human and Wildlife Conflict (HWC) management. The deceased identified as Victor Mubiano was attacked and killed by the elephant on Sunday evening, while a second victim Nkonga Simataa (24) who survived with severe injuries was also trampled in a separate incident the same day.HWC policy management makes provision of a N$100 000 for loss of life, N$10 000 for…
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Extended Levies reduction bites parastatal ….August fuel maintained

Extended Levies reduction bites parastatal ….August fuel maintained

Obrein Simasiku Parastatals benefitting from fuel levies must brace for the worst, as the Ministry of Mines and Energy has resolved to extend the levy reduction amnesty until further notice, thus lengthening the financial difficulties of companies such as the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, Natis and Namcor whose levies were cut by 25% and 50%. The companies are crying as they feel the financial crunch, which has already led to some streamlining their operations and reduce the provision of much needed services to the public. MVA Fund said they were losing about N$11 million in a month, and by December…
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Traditional circumciser becomes community mobilizer

Staff Writer Norich Uararakana Kaurika, 44, is a respected traditional circumciser from Okakarara, a small town in the Otjozondjupa Region. Norich takes pride in performing circumcisions because in his tribe (Ovaherero), tradition dictates that every young man should be circumcised not only as a rite of passage but also to prevent infections and improve hygiene. He explains the traditional role the fraternity of boys circumcised in the same year is playing for all of them. ‘’In difficult times, the men in the group will become each other’s pillars of hope. They keep each other accountable for staying on the straight…
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Grandmother’s intuitions come true

Grandmother’s intuitions come true

Martin Endjala Keemunda, which means helping and caring for others, is the name given by the grandmother.Little did she know that she will become just that.Immagine Shikomba, who holds a Bachelors Degree in computer science from the Namibia University of Science and Technology formed a civil society organization eight years ago called Keemunda Foundation.The name Keemunda comes from Psalms 121, “my help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth”.Shikomba in her reminiscences of her late grandmother, told Windhoek Observer in an interviewthat she never knew what Keemunda meant. When she one day asked her grandmother, she was…
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