Staff Reporter
SOCIAL justice activist Michael Amushelelo is in need of a total of N$70,000 to acquire legal representation of his choice after being taken to court by the Inspector General of the Namibian Police, Joseph Shikongo, for contempt of court. He allegedly violated a court order from October 2024, which restrained him from making defamatory remarks about the police chief.
Although his legal representatives of choice are Kadhila Amoomo Legal Practitioners, Amushelelo appeared in court today without the presence of a legal representative, stating that his lawyers could not appear because he had not paid them. He added that he has raised a total of N$30,000 but would need a further N$70,000 to be represented by an advocate from his chosen law firm. This is the second time Amushelelo’s supporters have left him in the lurch while he urgently requires legal funds.
High Court Acting Judge Anne-Doris Hans-Kaumbi, however, denied Amushelelo’s request to have the matter postponed to Friday, 11 April, and ordered that he return at 14:00 today, as he has already raised N$30,000 for legal representation.
The contempt of court application by Lieutenant General Shikongo follows a social media post by Amushelelo in which he said that a newly appointed minister, recently confirmed to be under investigation for rape charges, cannot be expected to resign from his position while the police chief has not done so after a car accident that claimed the lives of three people in December 2023.
“The respondent’s (Amushelelo’s) post has further exacerbated the damage to my reputation and dignity by inappropriately linking me to unrelated allegations against another individual, thereby creating an unfair association between two entirely separate matters in the public discourse. The respondent has attempted to conflate my situation with allegations of a serious sexual offence against another individual, despite there being no factual or legal connection between these matters. Such conflation appears designed to intensify negative public sentiment through association,” Shikongo said.
