Millions at stake in battle for MUN’s soul

The very essence of the powerful Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) is at stake amid a leadership crisis pitting ousted leaders, ex-president Ismael Kasuto and his deputy Desley Somseb, against the union&#039;s acting leader.At a press conference yesterday, acting president Mathew Mberiuana made several allegations against the ousted pair, accusing them of hijacking control of the Namibia Miners Investment Trust (NAMIT), and orchestrating the irregular payout of N$250 000 from its account.Kasuto and Somseb are, meanwhile, suing the MUN and seven others to have their ousting annulled, but the urgency of the issue has been brought into question by the court, Mberiuana said. According to Somseb, it is Mberiuana and his camp within the union&#039;s leadership with their hands in the pockets of the trust - which owns MUN&#039;s multimillion-dollar business arm Nam-Mic Holdings - and they are trying to push him and Kasuto out to allow the abuse of millions to continue.Kasuto emphasised that the N$250 000 was not paid into his own account, as is being insinuated, adding that the leadership transition is a ‘coup d&#039;etat’. According to him, the new leadership wrote to the bank at the first opportunity to gain control of the NAMIT account. "Lies have short legs," he said, and called for an extraordinary congress as soon as possible.The trust&#039;s account has since been frozen by the bank, Mberiuana and Somseb confirmed.‘Unethical leadership’The MUN head office in Katutura yesterday played host to the press conference where Mberiuana, MUN general secretary George Ampweya, his deputy Paulus Situmba and national training coordinator Brian Tjihero shared their side of the story with local media. Mberiuana claimed that Kasuto and Somseb were removed from their positions by a vote of no confidence at a special meeting on 28 April in Tsumeb. Later, on 11 May, their membership was suspended, he said."The president was removed because of his unethical leadership," he insisted. Mberiuana said the national executive board of the trade union has established since April that Somseb apparently had the trust deed changed to designate himself as founder, and did not have additional trustees appointed. He explained that 17 trustees must serve on NAMIT&#039;s board, while only nine are registered with the Master of the High Court. Of the nine, two did not attend the April meeting, and three others were no longer entitled to represent the union as trustees, according to Ampweya. Yet the relevant resolution indicates that - on the same day as the April meeting - they decided to transfer N$250 000 to a law firm to pay for future court cases against the trust. "However, our record does not indicate any court cases against the trust," Mberiuana said.Old labour disputesMeanwhile, the executive committee approved a resolution to have a forensic audit of the trust done. MUN&#039;s new leadership highlighted old labour disputes, and the suspension of the membership of 11 miners at Swakop Uranium, as examples of Kasuto and Somseb&#039;s failed leadership, and among issues MUN will now tackle afresh. "The organisation is going through a self-correcting, self-directing and renewal process to ensure MUN remains a member-centred organisation," Mberiuana said, while calling for calm among union members.On the other hand, Somseb said he and Kasuto are being targeted because they spoke out against misuse of MUN money and started asking questions about irregular payouts to foreign accounts. Mberiuana, among others, is involved in this, he claimed. "They come for the money," he said.He said Nam-Mic transferred N$13.5 million into the NAMIT account at the beginning of this year, with another payment of N$13.5 million expected in the last quarter of this year. Somseb said he was the one who called for the forensic audit and that he is now approaching the High Court, alongside Kasuto, to have the trust placed under administration and to have it investigated.“This is an eviction. I know these politics. This is what they are doing, so that I cannot attend the congress as a fully-paid member and be able to answer questions there," Somseb said. According to him, "greedy leadership" within the union is engaged in "dirty politics", many people will be jailed if the audit reports come out, and he will fight on, "even if it means I put my life on the line".

Millions at stake in battle for MUN’s soul

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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Millions at stake in battle for MUN’s soul

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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