Sam Nujoma To Sue Newspaper
Report by MISA-Namibia
Windhoek
On 26 September 2006, "The Namibian" newspaper reported that former head of state and president of the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), Sam Nujoma, is suing the daily for N$5 million (approx. US$650,000) because, he alleges, the newspaper implied he is corrupt.
Lawyers for Nujoma claim that, by reporting on evidence given during a public inquiry on the Avid-Social Security Commission (SSC) case in 2005, the newspaper implied that Nujoma abused his position as the president of Namibia to advance his personal financial benefit in Avid, is a corrupt leader, wanted to conceal his corrupt dealings in Avid and state entities such as the SSC, and was a person of low moral scruples.
The claim relates to a report published on 10 August 2005, headlined "Nujoma named in Avid Scandal" and written by senior reporter Werner Menges. Menges is named as the second defendant in the lawsuit.
MISA condemned Nujoma's actions as a considered attempt to muzzle the media and to suppress public opinion.
MISA added that "The Namibian" newspaper was merely reporting on information already in the public domain, information that was made available in a public hearing and which is contained in a sworn affidavit that was filed with the court.
The media freedom advocacy organisation further appealed to the former head of state to retract the lawsuit in a showing of statesmanship and in honour of many statements he made in the past aimed at advancing media freedom and freedom of expression in Namibia.
Menges quoted from an affidavit submitted to a Companies Act hearing in the High Court by Avril Green, former manager at the SSC.
The Companies Act Inquiry, held in August 2005 under the chairmanship of Acting Judge Raymond Heathcote, probed the aborted N$30 million (approx. US$3.9 million) investment the SSC made with Avid Investment Corporation.
The case turned into a sensational unveiling of corrupt deals which made headlines for weeks, capturing the public imagination because of the array of prominent players in the drama that subsequently unfolded in the hearing. The exposé toppled a number of big names in Namibia.
The SSC was established to administer the funds for the provision of social security benefits to Namibian workers and their dependents.

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