Company sues Amushelelo for N$350 000

Another case of alleged defamation has been made against activist Michael Amushelelo for posts he shared on his Facebook page.

The latest lawsuit was brought in May by Pluczenik Diamonds Namibia, a company that specialises in diamond polishing and trading locally and around the world.

This after the High Court issued a court order this month which prohibits Amushelelo from making any further defamatory statements against Namibian Police Inspector-General Joseph Shikongo.

Shikongo is demanding about N$1 million from Amushelelo for statements he made related to allegations that the force covered up evidence about a fatal accident the police chief was involved in December 2022.

Pluczenik

On 19 April, Amushelelo reportedly accused Pluczenik of recruiting employees a few days before the mines ministry or the Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) visited it in order to lie about the number of workers the company employs.

He claimed that the company recruited around 50 people and pretended they were permanent employees.

According to Amushelelo's allegations, the company lies about its number of employees in order to obtain larger licences.

“These 50 workers went back home on Friday and yesterday five employees who have been with the company for one year were also sent back home, including a pregnant woman. [The Mineworkers Union of Namibia] is 100% aware of this, but nothing has been done," he wrote.

‘Unlawful and defamatory’

In court documents, Pluczenik said Amushelelo had more than 255 000 Facebook followers at the time of posting these allegations.

The company further claimed that the statements are unlawful and defamatory and that they were made with the aim of harming its good name and reputation. "The content of the post was intended to convey that [Pluczenik] acted unethically to mislead the government and its entities," the company argued in court documents.

Pluczenik further argued that the post portrayed it as an entity that practices tribalism, deliberately violates labour laws and has no regard for its employees. The company emphasised that the post insinuated that it obtained its licences in questionable ways.

Retract and apologise

Pluczenik reportedly asked Amushelelo to remove the post, but he refused.

"Under the circumstances, [the company] has suffered damage to its good name and reputation amounting to N$350 000 and is therefore entitled to payment of this amount, as well as the retraction and removal of the Facebook post and an apology by [Amushelelo]," Pluczenik's particulars of claim read.

The parties appeared in court yesterday before Judge Eileen Rakow for pre-trial proceedings. Although Amushelelo has indicated that he will oppose the case, no statement has yet been submitted by him or his lawyers.

Namib Mills

Amushelelo was also involved in a court case with Namib Mills in April. This was also in relation to, among other things, threats he apparently made on Facebook against the company.

Namib Mills succeeded in obtaining an interdict against Amushelelo, which prohibits him from making threats against the company or in any way obstructing its operations.

In those posts, Amushelelo indirectly accused the company of racism and implied that it treats its employees inhumanely.

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