THE Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) has paid lawyers Slysken Makando N$630 000 and Kaijata Kangueehi N$800 000 to preside over an internal disciplinary process against a finance manager at the parastatal.
It resulted in the dismissal of NTB finance manager Nesley Xarageb in April 2025, following a disciplinary hearing that cost the government N$1.4 million.
Xarageb was accused of misconduct, including opposing payments of board members’ travel allowances.
He has declined to comment on the matter.
However, his case has reignited a broader debate about the cost of disciplinary hearings, particularly at parastatals, where the process often appears to benefit lawyers’ pockets more than the institutions.
Concerns have been raised over the parastatal’s spending of nearly N$1.4 million on a single case, as well as its apparent failure to follow procurement procedures in appointing the two legal practitioners.
Lawyer Norman Tjombe says the cost of disciplinary hearings at state-owned enterprises are of concern.
“The major problem lies with the responsible managers not taking care on ensuring that disciplinary hearings are finalised speedily, and more often than not, spurious charges are added to the more meritorious charges of misconduct, which inevitably protracts the hearings,” he says.
The saga began in April last year when NTB brought Xarageb before a disciplinary hearing, with NTB appointed lawyer Makando as the chairperson of the disciplinary hearing in 2024.
Makando was one of the three shortlisted candidates publicly interviewed by the Judicial Service Commission for a High Court seat in 2023.
His nomination is still under consideration.
Makando has defended the NTB payment, stating that it was a lengthy hearing.
“It is an internal process. The people who paid me are the employers, and I have no right to comment on their behalf. I can confirm that it was a lengthy hearing and procedure” he says.
An invoice seen by The Namibian shows that Makando charged N$31 000 per hour. He, however, insists that his normal per hour rate is usually around N$48 000.
“The process took place with a lot of procedures. I had to sit for all the hearings, and each time I had to make sure that we gave our time of the commitment per hour. I don’t normally charge N$31 000, I charge N$48 000 in court per hour.
“People must also understand that it was a lengthy hearing, and when you think you are ready, other lawyers were not ready, and I had to make sure my ruling was a detailed one. The people who should answer in this case are the employers,” he says.
THE INITIATOR
Kangueehi, who previously served as an acting High Court judge from 1 July to 9 November 2019, was appointed as the initiator in the disciplinary hearing against the finance manager. His law firm raked in N$800 000 as part of the saga that is still ongoing, since it is now at the Labour Court.
However, sources allege that his appointment did not comply with the Public Procurement Act, which permits the tourism board to designate an internal initiator for such proceedings.
When approached for a comment, Kangueehi referred The Namibian to the tourism board, stating that he did not appoint himself.
“I suggest that you contact NTB directly on this issue. They have people that deal with that. We did not appoint ourselves.”
He says the matter has been referred to the Labour Court.
“I will hence not comment on the same,” he says.
NTB is familiar territory for Kangueehi. He warned the paratstal in 2015 about its dealings with Benin-born businessman Ernest Adjovi who was later accused of defrauding the NTB of around N$23 million.
Human resources practitioners in parastatals that The Namibian spoke to call this charge a “rip off”.
They explain that lawyers are not supposed to be part of disciplinary hearings as that is an internal matter.
Aggrieved parties during an internal process are allowed to be represented by a chairperson with a legal background if they fall outside the bargaining unit (union).
THE FEES OF THE MATTER
These people charge between N$600 and N$5 000 per hour.
Industry practice, according to the human resources practitioners, is that lawyers may only be consulted once the matter has been escalated to the Labour Court.
A lawyer who prefers to remain anonymous says it is not easy to determine charges.
“It is not easy to say how much it should be but the lawyer can charge anything from N$2 000, but it increases according to the work that is being done and the time.”
He says the employers are sometimes the ones delaying the cases, increasing the amounts.
“The problem is staff members who do not make sure that the cases are finalised on time, and sometimes they always make a long hearing and that is costly,” the lawyer says.
Meanwhile, another source close to the matter says when executives face disciplinary hearings, it can be costly, but, in most cases, it is senior executives that want to take revenge on employees and have personal vendettas.
“They end up spending a lot of money from the company on these disciplinary hearings. It could be a couple of months and millions that will be spent on lawyers and auditing.
“This is unacceptable because they are making a lot of money and there is never accountability. Other parastatals are charging N$1 500 per hour but others are making a lot of money. It can go up to N$5 000,” he says.
NTB spokesperson Flora Quest confirms that the board had appointed Makando.
“NTB did indeed appoint advocate Makando as the external chairperson in the disciplinary hearing concerning former finance manager Nesley Xarageb,” she says.
NTB says an external advocate was appointed due to the complexity of the matter.
NTB RESPONSE
“As per NTB’s disciplinary action and procedures policy, if a case is considered too complex, or if the supervisor or designated initiator is unable to conduct the investigation due to a conflict of interest such as needing to serve as a witness, the chief executive or head of human resources may appoint an external party to investigate, draft charges, and/or act as initiator,” she says, adding that in this case, the head of the human resources department, who would ordinarily handle such proceedings, was in fact the initiator of the charges and a key witness.
“Due to both the complexity of the case and the internal conflict of roles, the decision was made to appoint external legal professionals,” she says.
Quest says the appointment of Makando, a senior legal professional, was in line with best practices and in accordance with NTB’s disciplinary policy processes.
“The cost of the disciplinary process reflects the involvement of more than one legal practitioner, including the independent chairperson and initiator, over an extended period. NTB followed all applicable public procurement procedures, and costs incurred were reviewed and approved through appropriate oversight mechanisms,” she says.
NTB has recently made headlines after disbursing over N$2 million in subsistence and travel allowances to board members within five months.
Some directors reportedly raked in N$300 000 to N$600 000, prompting scrutiny that the funds could have been better spent.
Minister of environment and tourism Indileni Daniel has launched an investigation to determine if the travel was justified and compliant with policy, amid staff and stakeholder concerns.
NTB defends the payments, citing board travel requirements and ministerial approvals.
