‘Charity case’ Amushelelo says he might change his ways

Social activist Michael Amushelelo yesterday described himself as “a charity case” before he was sentenced to pay a fine of N$5 000 and to a fully suspended prison term of six months for contempt of court.

Addressing acting judge Doris Hans-Kaumbi before his sentencing, Amushelelo said he is unemployed and makes a living “solely based on good people who assist me”.

He added: “I’m what you would call a charity case […] because I rely on charitable donations.”

Amushelelo said he was moved when he saw the reaction of a long-standing friend after Hans-Kaumbi had found him guilty of contempt of court in the Windhoek High Court on Monday evening.

After the judge held him in contempt of court and ordered that he be detained at Windhoek Correctional Facility, he cried in the prison that night while considering the burden the turn of events was placing on his friend, who would have to step in to shoulder his responsibilities, Amushelelo said.

“Perhaps I should start reconsidering and rethinking who I am as a human being, so that I don’t continue putting people whom I love in situations such as this,” he said.

Hans-Kaumbi sentenced Amushelelo to pay a fine of N$5 000 or serve a prison term of six months, and also sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment, fully suspended for a period of two years on condition that he is not convicted of contempt of court committed during the period of suspension.

The judge held Amushelelo in contempt of court after he referred to judges as “puppets” and “little gods” in the Windhoek High Court on Monday.

Amushelelo made the remarks when he addressed Hans-Kaumbi on an application by him for her to step down from a case in which Namibian Police inspector general Joseph Shikongo is suing him.

Amushelelo applied for Hans-Kaumbi’s recusal after she refused to postpone an urgent application that Shikongo filed against him last Thursday. Amushelelo requested a postponement to give him more time to obtain legal representation in the matter.

Shikongo is asking the court to order Amushelelo to immediately remove remarks about Shikongo that he posted on his Facebook page early last week.

In the remarks, Amushelelo referred to a fatal road collision in which Shikongo was involved in northern Namibia in December 2022, about which he has not faced any criminal charges until now.

Shikongo is alleging that Amushelelo’s remarks breach a court order made by a High Court judge in October last year, when Shikongo and Amushelelo settled a defamation case in which Shikongo was suing Amushelelo for N$1 million.

Hans-Kaumbi held Amushelelo in contempt of court after saying that statements made by him were a clear attack on the independence of the judiciary.

She recounted that he said, during a hearing before her on Monday afternoon, that judges are puppets who answer to the authority that appointed them, that they would not bite the hand that feeds them, and that they think of themselves as “little gods”.

Before the sentencing yesterday, Amushelelo told the judge he had remorse about the remarks he had made.

He said he came from a background of political activism and went to court on Monday with that background. As a lay litigant, he did not know there is a particular tone – with which he is not familiar – in which to address a court, Amushelelo said.

During the sentencing, Hans-Kaumbi said social justice activists can play a crucial role in promoting equality, fairness and justice.

However, if the judiciary is politicised, it creates a risk of turning the courts into a tool for power, instead of a means for justice, Hans-Kaumbi said.

The rule of law is an essential part of a democratic society, and a threat to judicial independence will not be tolerated, she also said.

She added that the most important function of a sentence for contempt of court is to enforce the court’s authority.

Shikongo’s urgent application regarding Amushelelo’s comments on social media is due to be heard by another judge, after Hans-Kaumbi convicted Amushelelo of contempt of court.