DRC army chief’s N$9m lawsuit begins

Congolese army chief, General Francois Olenga, has personally attended proceedings in the High Court in Windhoek, where he is suing a Swakopmund estate agent he allegedly entrusted with over N$9 million. Olenga, who was appointed by DRC President Joseph Kabila to lead the onslaught against the troublesome M23 rebels in his home country, has approached the Namibian court in his bid to recover his money. Judge Harald Geier ordered yesterday that the parties must try and find common ground. He suggested a postponement so that they can decide which issues are in dispute. After a discussion with the legal teams in his chambers, Geier postponed the matter to November 24. The matter has also been set down on the case management roll for July 1, when the parties are expected to address the court about the costs of yesterday’s proceedings and whether a sanction hearing will take place. The parties will also be allowed to address the court in terms of the further discovery of documents, whether additional witnesses will be called and whether the matter will be referred for mediation. It is alleged that Olenga and estate agent Erwin Spranger entered into an oral agreement in January 2010 regarding the development of the Congolese man’s property at Swakopmund. The money was supposedly to be used for the development and expansion of a property the army chief owns at the coastal town. Court documents reveal that Olenga owns two erven at the coastal resort town. It is stated that US$900 000 (about N$9.6 million at today’s forex rate) was paid into the trust account of Kintscher Estates, Agents and Auctioneers, for whom Spranger worked as an estate agent. The money, court papers further reveal, was exclusively meant for the management and development of Olenga’s property at Swakopmund. The same year, in September, Olenga allegedly asked Spranger to pay US$100 000 (N$1 million) into his (Olenga’s) bank account, but only US$50 000 (N$500 000) was paid - leaving Spranger with US$850 000 of Olenga’s money, according to documents. The Congolese army chief says since then, he has never instructed Spranger to use any of the remaining US$850 000 (N$9.1 million). In December 2010, Olenga asked Spranger to give back the remaining money - a request that to date has not been complied with. Olenga is now asking the court to order Spranger to pay over the remaining money, and an additional interest of 20% per annum from the date of such a judgement. Spranger argues that he and Olenga agreed that the estate agency for which Spranger worked receive the mandate to sell Olenga’s unimproved property on his behalf. Yesterday, after Olenga’s lawyer proposed mediation as a way of settling the matter, the parties must be allowed to speak freely at such gathering. “At mediation some of the documents can be put on table,” he said. Spranger’s attorney, Philip Swanepoel, argued that crucial documentation had not been furnished to his client. He had also made a request for bank statements pertaining to the case. Advocate Charmaine van der Westhuizen, who is appearing for Olenga, said Spranger had shown no intention of settling the matter. She added the original documents are in possession of all the parties. Van der Westhuizen added that there had been no indication during pre-trial proceedings that the documents in Spranger’s possession were insufficient. Geier said the principle is that defendants are entitled to peruse all the documents they must answer to in court.