Zorena Jantze
HIGH Court judge, Shafimana Ueitele, has said that the application to subpoena some witnesses to testify in the Redline case is irregular, as it was supposed to be done on the 13th of December 2024 but was, however, only done in January 2025.
The judge thus said that he would not consider the subpoena application or go into its merits and therefore called on the applicant in the matter, Job Amupanda, to provide reasons as to why the late filing of the application should be accepted.
These averments were made by Judge Ueitele in the ongoing battle where Affirmative Reposition (AR) movement president seeks to have the Red Line removed and declared unconstitutional. The Red Line, which was created to prevent the spread of animal diseases from Namibia’s northern communal farming areas to foot-and-mouth disease-free areas south of the fence, was not erected in terms of any law and is unconstitutional.
VIDEO: Some scenes from court. Video: contributed.
Nandi-Ndaitwah was called upon to testify as a witness in her former official capacity as the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation on her knowledge of the alleged international agreements the country signed regarding the Red Line. The Vice-President, however, objected to appearing in court, citing that she does not have any knowledge of this and claimed that.
She further claimed that Amupanda seeks to embarrass her by the impugned subpoena and the ensuing media spectacle at court and argued that the trade dealings of the Red Line fall within the purview of the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Calle Schlettwein.
“As far as we are concerned, our subpoenas have not been set aside. He (the judge) is basically saying that we should bring an application on why it should not be set aside. He simply just doesn’t want to hear the application of the Vice-President.”
He further denied wanting to embarrass the Vice-President by calling her to testify as a witness in the Redline matter. “The law says everyone can be subpoenaed. What will I gain from embarrassing an old lady? Would I even enjoy embarrassing an old lady? I am not concerned about embarrassing her,” Amupanda claimed.
He further contended that the Vice-President has commented on the Red Line while she held that portfolio and is very experienced and knowledgeable in international relations.
“She further holds a postgraduate diploma in International Relations and a Master’s Degree in Diplomatic Studies from Keele University. It will be helpful to the court to understand how agreements could be concluded to the benefit of Americans, Europeans, Chinese, and other countries (as pleaded by defendants) to the exclusion of Namibians north of the Red Line, who make up more than half of the country’s population, in violation of their constitutionally guaranteed rights,” Amupanda said.
