Dismissed Ondonga councillors want Elifas in court

OSHAKATI, 31 JULY – The Ondonga leadership dispute was on Monday heard for the first time in the Oshakati High Court, where one of the disputing parties demanded that Ondonga leader Immanuel Kauluma Elifas be called to testify.
A group of Ondonga traditional councillors dismissed last year are demanding that Elifas be brought to court to testify and confirm that the letters of their dismissal were indeed issued and signed by him.
This group includes the chairperson of the Ondonga Traditional Authority Council, Peter Kauluma; the council’s secretary, Joseph Asino (first applicant); Vilho Kamanya; John Walenga; Kashona kaMalulu; Fillemon Nambili and Tonata Ngulu. They are represented by George Coleman, instructed by Elize Angula of Angula Co Incorporated.
In his submission in court on Monday, Coleman suggested to the presiding judge, Justice Maphios Cheda that he should issue an order for Elifas to attend the court to testify.
Elifas’ defence lawyer Elias Shikongo of Shikongo Law Chambers, supported by Sandra Miller, opposed the demand for his client to testify in court.
Shikongo argued that court rules were not properly adhered to by the applicants in their demand for him to testify and at the same time pointed out that the applicants, in their application, indicated that his client is no longer mentally fit to manage Ondonga traditional and customary affairs.
He also told the court that the applicants (Asino and others) want to have Elifas brought in to have his mental ability tested in court, while judges, advocates or lawyers are not experts in assessing the mental fitness of a person.
“We never said the king (Elifas) is sick and we can’t ever say that without having a medical declaration,” Angula said to journalists at the end of the hearing.
Cheda, however, postponed the hearing to 03 September this year for the court to determine whether Elifas should be brought to court to testify or not.
Members of the Ondonga community, mostly followers of the dismissed councillors, packed the court gallery.
NAMPA