Metcalfe quits Swapo case, calls Shipwikineni 'insane moron'
Shipwikineni claims Metcalfe cowed by alleged Damaseb threats
The war of words sums up a fallout between the two men, which has been laid bare in court documents.
Veteran lawyer Richard Metcalfe has launched a scathing attack on former client Reinhold Shipwikineni, describing him as an "insane moron and a liar."
This comes after Shipwikineni accused Metcalfe of being a "coward" and alleged that he withdrew from a case against Swapo due to alleged threats from Deputy Chief Justice Petrus Damaseb.
The fallout between the two has been laid bare in court documents, painting a picture of deteriorating relations marked by accusations of threats, misrepresentation and cowardice.
Metcalfe recently withdrew from the case, leaving Shipwikineni to represent himself in court.
Chaos in the courtroom
According to a status report dated 4 February, Shipwikineni informed the court that he and four other applicants – who are suing Swapo for failing to hold an extraordinary congress within 90 days of former party leader Hage Geingob’s death – are seeking a postponement until 12 February to secure new legal representation.
Shipwikineni, who dramatically endorsed Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) presidential candidate Panduleni Itula ahead of the 2024 election, claimed that Metcalfe had misrepresented them in court by suggesting they intended to negotiate with Swapo.
“We disassociate ourselves from the information provided to the court on 29 January. The applicants never intended to and will never settle with the respondents in this case,” Shipwikineni stated.
He also alleged that in 2024, Metcalfe had complained to them that he was being threatened by the deputy chief justice for representing their case against Swapo.
“The applicants are therefore not surprised that their erstwhile legal representative withdrew after submitting misleading information to the court that the applicants intended to negotiate with the respondents. The threats probably became too many,” he wrote.
Metcalfe fires back
Metcalfe did not hold back in his response to these allegations. Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, he dismissed Shipwikineni’s claims as outright lies.
“Pursuant to the so-called status report issued by Reinhold Shipwikineni, I wish to make it categorically clear that the last time I engaged directly with the honourable deputy chief justice was in 2010,” Metcalfe said.
He cited an "irretrievable breakdown" in the lawyer-client relationship as the reason for his withdrawal from the case.
“Shipwikineni misrepresents himself as an attorney and refuses to accept cogent legal advice. He appears, with the utmost respect, to be addicted to prevarication and deception in order to advance his nefarious ego,” Metcalfe stated.
“At no stage whatsoever has the honourable deputy chief justice ever engaged with me or threatened me in any way regarding this matter or any other. It is a bald-faced lie propagated by Shipwikineni for his own self-serving purposes,” he added.
“This Shipwikineni is an absolute insane moron and an absolute liar.”
Battle over Swapo congress
Metcalfe had been representing Shipwikineni and four other Swapo members in their lawsuit against the party, which they accused of failing to hold an extraordinary congress within 90 days after Geingob’s death in February 2024.
Swapo, in its filings, defended postponing the congress until 2025, arguing that holding one in 2024 could have caused internal divisions ahead of the November general elections. The party’s concerns were seemingly validated, as it won the election with a slim 53% majority – its worst electoral performance in 35 years.
The applicants, including Petrus Ndeshipanda Shituula, Joshua Vaino Martins, Erich Chrismann Shivute, and Aina Kalimba Angula, argue that Swapo vice-president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was irregularly nominated as the party’s presidential candidate. They claim that if an extraordinary congress had been held as required, a new party leader would have been elected, who, according to Swapo’s succession policy, would have automatically become the presidential candidate for the 2024 election.
Swapo and Nandi-Ndaitwah are the respondents in the case.
This comes after Shipwikineni accused Metcalfe of being a "coward" and alleged that he withdrew from a case against Swapo due to alleged threats from Deputy Chief Justice Petrus Damaseb.
The fallout between the two has been laid bare in court documents, painting a picture of deteriorating relations marked by accusations of threats, misrepresentation and cowardice.
Metcalfe recently withdrew from the case, leaving Shipwikineni to represent himself in court.
Chaos in the courtroom
According to a status report dated 4 February, Shipwikineni informed the court that he and four other applicants – who are suing Swapo for failing to hold an extraordinary congress within 90 days of former party leader Hage Geingob’s death – are seeking a postponement until 12 February to secure new legal representation.
Shipwikineni, who dramatically endorsed Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) presidential candidate Panduleni Itula ahead of the 2024 election, claimed that Metcalfe had misrepresented them in court by suggesting they intended to negotiate with Swapo.
“We disassociate ourselves from the information provided to the court on 29 January. The applicants never intended to and will never settle with the respondents in this case,” Shipwikineni stated.
He also alleged that in 2024, Metcalfe had complained to them that he was being threatened by the deputy chief justice for representing their case against Swapo.
“The applicants are therefore not surprised that their erstwhile legal representative withdrew after submitting misleading information to the court that the applicants intended to negotiate with the respondents. The threats probably became too many,” he wrote.
Metcalfe fires back
Metcalfe did not hold back in his response to these allegations. Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, he dismissed Shipwikineni’s claims as outright lies.
“Pursuant to the so-called status report issued by Reinhold Shipwikineni, I wish to make it categorically clear that the last time I engaged directly with the honourable deputy chief justice was in 2010,” Metcalfe said.
He cited an "irretrievable breakdown" in the lawyer-client relationship as the reason for his withdrawal from the case.
“Shipwikineni misrepresents himself as an attorney and refuses to accept cogent legal advice. He appears, with the utmost respect, to be addicted to prevarication and deception in order to advance his nefarious ego,” Metcalfe stated.
“At no stage whatsoever has the honourable deputy chief justice ever engaged with me or threatened me in any way regarding this matter or any other. It is a bald-faced lie propagated by Shipwikineni for his own self-serving purposes,” he added.
“This Shipwikineni is an absolute insane moron and an absolute liar.”
Battle over Swapo congress
Metcalfe had been representing Shipwikineni and four other Swapo members in their lawsuit against the party, which they accused of failing to hold an extraordinary congress within 90 days after Geingob’s death in February 2024.
Swapo, in its filings, defended postponing the congress until 2025, arguing that holding one in 2024 could have caused internal divisions ahead of the November general elections. The party’s concerns were seemingly validated, as it won the election with a slim 53% majority – its worst electoral performance in 35 years.
The applicants, including Petrus Ndeshipanda Shituula, Joshua Vaino Martins, Erich Chrismann Shivute, and Aina Kalimba Angula, argue that Swapo vice-president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was irregularly nominated as the party’s presidential candidate. They claim that if an extraordinary congress had been held as required, a new party leader would have been elected, who, according to Swapo’s succession policy, would have automatically become the presidential candidate for the 2024 election.
Swapo and Nandi-Ndaitwah are the respondents in the case.
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