Kapere’s widow demands N$2 million from NYC

The widow of former National Youth Council (NYC) executive chairperson and Swapo member of parliament Mandela Kapere is suing NYC for N$2 million over unpaid salary arrears.Stella Asta Tomas-Kapere claims that her husband, who died in late 2020 from Covid-19, was owed back pay for his service as NYC executive chairperson, a role he held from 2010 until he stepped down in 2019 to take a seat in parliament.According to her, there had been a series of missed commitments by NYC and its representatives to pay arrears after her husband’s resignation.The N$2 million claim includes an outstanding payment of N$1.2 million plus 20% interest per annum from November 2019 to date, amounting to around N$760 979.Tomas-Kapere seeks a judgment against both NYC and its board, with the option for either one to settle the alleged debt in full.Furthermore, the lawsuit demands that should NYC fail to make the payment within 15 days of judgment, the deputy sheriff of Windhoek should be empowered to attach the council’s bank accounts to recover the owed amount.Events outlinedAccording to court documents, it is alleged that when Kapere was initially appointed as executive chairperson, he was promised a higher salary tier in recognition of the role&#039;s demands. However, due to financial constraints, NYC postponed implementing the higher pay scale and instead committed to making a back payment at a later date.“Despite undertaking to pay him back pay as soon as funds became available, [NYC] and the chairperson of the board of NYC, duly represented by their required members, failed to honour this promise,” the court document reads.Tomas-Kapere contends that the NYC was obligated to settle the arrears upon Kapere’s resignation in October 2019, as per Namibia’s Labour Act."Considering the resignation by Mr Kapere, the arrear back pay should have been settled with his final pay cheque as per the Labour Act, 2007, Section 35(1)(a) and (e) read with subsection (4), on or before the 30th of November 2019.”In breachHowever, the payments were reportedly never made.Following her husband’s death, Tomas-Kapere claims NYC continued to delay or outright ignore her payment requests.In December 2023, the sport, youth, and national service ministry, represented by its executive director Mbumba Haitengela, issued a formal directive instructing NYC to settle the arrears.The directive reportedly emphasised the ministry’s stance that NYC&#039;s debt was “due and payable”; however, the council allegedly disregarded the directive.“In light thereof, [NYC] is in breach of their obligations in terms of the NYC Act and further, in breach of the agreement between the parties that the monies would be paid in December 2023,” court documents note.“In an attempt to amicably resolve the matter, [Tomas-Kapere] engaged [NYC] with the [NYC’s current executive chairperson Sharonice Busch] for settlement of the amount due and payable to the estate late. However, despite numerous directives by the chairperson of the NYC board, NYC alternatively, [Busch] failed and refused to make the payment," the lawsuit claims. Tomas-Kapere further noted that the prolonged delay in payments has led to administrative challenges in settling her husband’s estate."Upon consultation with legal counsel, NYC established that the estate would need to be re-registered and the amount claimed for in order to finalise the estate in terms of the Administration of Estates Act, 1965."nikanor@erongo.com.na

Kapere’s widow demands N$2 million from NYC

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

Please login to leave a comment

Kapere’s widow demands N$2 million from NYC

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

Please login to leave a comment

Login