NSC workers ‘illegally’ scrutinised NPL application
…as league launches new appeal
The Namibia Premier League (NPL), in its latest appeal notice to the national appeals committee, claims their application to be recognised as a sports body for professional football was illegally and unconstitutionally reviewed and scrutinised by ordinary Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) workers, as opposed to an independently-appointed committee.
In its 25-page appeal notice launched with the national appeals committee at the end of last week, the NPL again challenged the NSC’s decision not to grant them a licence to be recognised as a sporting body for professional football in the country.
A few weeks ago, the NSC for the second time rejected the NPL’s application, stating that the NPL’s application did not have an endorsed constitution as it was not signed off by authorised persons such as the league’s chairperson and general secretary. The NSC also pointed out that another reason to discard the application was because of missing national identification document (ID) copies of the league’s executive members.
The NPL’s application was rejected by the NSC’s Committee for Constitutional Framework and Registration of New Federations, which is a new ad hoc committee that was hastily installed by the commission to look into the league’s application.
The NSC first rejected the NPL’s application late last year, a decision that was appealed by the league with the national appeals committee early this year. After
careful consideration, the appeals committee found that the NSC had erred in their judgement to reject the application, and ordered that the NSC review their decision and revert.
After almost three weeks, the NSC announced that after again carefully reviewing the application and all its attachments, they still maintained their earlier stance not to recognise the NPL as a sports body for professional football in the country – on the recommendations of the new committee.
The NPL is still not satisfied with the decision of the NSC, and has since launched another appeal. In its fresh appeal notice filed last week, the NPL pointed out a raft of flagrant flaws in the NSC’s decision, and particularly how the new Committee for Constitutional Framework and Registration of New Federations is illegal and unconstitutional.
The league claims this committee is illegally composed of NSC workers, such as Tjeripo Musutua, Magic Nyambe, Benadine Negonya, Timotheus Tiboth, Chalo Chainda and Salome Iiyambo.
“These appear to be employees of the NSC and subordinates of the NSC chief administrator, Freddy Mwiya. And looking at that committee’s minutes from their meeting of 27 April 2021, Chainda and Iiyambo appear not to have been present the day the decision was passed. The Namibia Sports Act 12 of 2003 does not have any provisions for the establishment of the Constitutional Framework Committee, which renders this committee ultra vires as per the provisions of the Act. Its decisions are thus unlawful,” reads part of the NPL’s appeal notice.
“Also, claims that our constitution is not endorsed because it is not signed off and that ID copies are missing from the application cannot be a disqualifying factor, but it’s merely a requirement factor that was not met,” the NPL further claimed.
The national appeals committee, which is chaired by lawyer Loini Shikale-Ambondo, will in coming weeks be expected to announce an appeal hearing date for the two parties. Efforts to get comment from Mwiya and NSC chairman Joel Matheus proved futile, as their phones were off at the time of going to print.