Staff Writer
Oniipa-based Northcot Private School is now demanding a public apology from its principal and another school official accused of soiling the entity’s name, a few days after 13 teachers said they got fired in one day for daring to join a union.
However, several parents have decried this as an act of intimidation against the duo based on the fact that they have stood with the teachers.
Two top-management officials at the school have been dodgy as of late, refusing to respond to the in-house fighting, citing that they do not talk to journalists.
But the Teachers Union of Namibia’s (TUN) Kavihuha Mahongora has frowned upon the letter saying that it was diversionary as it did not address concerns about the fired teachers and their right to belong to a union.
In the 17th of August letter to Principal Benedict Mulife and Robin Masuku, they are facing accusations of defamation.
Nicky Angula Attorneys, representing Northcote, accused Mulife of orchestrating a petition which he claimed to be from the parents decrying the governance issues at the school and their impact on the education of their children.
“In the above-stated petition, you questioned our client’s operational capacity and also frowned at certain decisions and/or issues which fall within the exclusive functions of our client. During the month of July 2022, you further availed this petition to Omulunga Radio with the sole intention that the radio station broadcasts false and defaming information to the public about our client.”
“During the month of July 2022, you gave similar false and defaming information to several news media, including the Eagle FM and Namibian Newspaper to wit; that our client refused to pay its employees. In your above-mentioned unlawful conduct, you also exposed your petition to the news media, an act which is a breach of trust in respect of how internal affairs should be handled. You also alleged to the news media that our client was incapable of managing its own affairs,” said the lawyers.
The principal stands accused of opening a WhatsApp group with the sole intention of spreading falsehoods about the school.
The lawyers have demanded that a written apology be published in the various media houses that have so far reported on the chaos at the school.
The lawyers said that this must be done within seven days of receipt of this letter, failing which they will take further legal steps.
However, Mahongora, said they are ready to fight for the principal, even as parents are preparing to picket at the school over the dismissals.
“I find that kind of action as a way of desperation. The questions that the owner of the private school does not want to accept is that those employees are supposed to belong to a union. All the allegations raised in that letter are exactly what transpired.”
“As a union, we are going to deal with that desperation decisively with the force it deserves. We are not going to leave that school principal to the vultures. The issue that we are busy with is to try to restore the right of the workers. We are very disturbed and disappointed. This is a call to the ministry of labour that we need to deal with some matters on an urgent basis,” said Mahongora.