Staff Reporter
THE Windhoek High Court has found social activist Michael Amushelelo in contempt of court after he was sued by former Namibian Police Inspector General Joseph Shikongo.
This comes after Shikongo sued Amushelelo for allegedly violating a court order that instructed Amushelelo not to issue defamatory remarks on any social media platform relating to the former head of police.
In the previous application, Shikongo had sued Amushelelo for defamation after the activist claimed that the Namibian police had covered up evidence linked to a December 2022 car accident involving Shikongo in northern Namibia. The accident claimed the lives of three people, namely Frans Pombili Ndengu (27), Sofia Natangwe Ananias (22) and Stefanus Hafeni Shahafifange Lukas (22).
Shikongo argued in that application that Amushelelo falsely and maliciously implied that he had tampered with the investigation into the accident and that he was not a fit and proper person to head the police force, among other claims. An order was subsequently made directing Amushelelo to stop making defamatory statements concerning Shikongo.
In their judgment of 28 August 2026, High Court judges Nate Ndauendapo and Hannelie Prinsloo said that Amushelelo had once more been declared to be in contempt of court for wilfully and mala fide breaching the terms of the settlement agreement made an order of the Court on 9 October 2024.
“The respondent (Amushelelo) is committed to imprisonment for a period of one month, suspended for a period of one year, on condition that he is not found to be in contempt of this order of the High Court during the period of suspension,” the judges said.
He was further ordered to refrain from publishing or disseminating any further defamatory or disparaging material concerning Shikongo and to publish a formal, unequivocal and unqualified written apology to Shikongo, clearly acknowledging that his statements were in breach of the Court Order dated 9 October 2024.
Amushelelo was further ordered to unreservedly retract all allegations made against Shikongo in the Facebook post dated 31 March 2025.
Picture for illustrative purposes only. Photo: NBC Digital News
