Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters deputy president Kalimbo Iipumbu will next week ask minister of health and social services Esperance Luvindao to explain why she engaged her brother's law firm in a planned defamation lawsuit against Windhoek Observer.
In a notice of questions to the National Assembly, Iipumbu says Luvindao's decision to threaten legal action through Dr Weder, Kruger and Haikali Incorporated, where her brother is a director and co-managing partner, raises "a troubling use of public office and a blatant conflict of interest".
He says Luvindao bypassed the Office of the Attorney General which represents ministers.
"This could become a costly lawsuit to a private firm that directly benefits your family," he says.
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Iipumbu wants to know how she justifies using public resources for a private legal firm, and whether it is ethical to take legal action against journalists for reporting on the ministry's alleged failure to maintain adequate malaria medication stock during the outbreak earlier this year.
He questions what action Luvindao took when her brother, whose wife allegedly owns Atlantic Pharmaceutical, emailed the ministry in May requesting information on pharmaceutical procurement.
This comes after Dr Weder, Kruger and Haikali Incorporated, acting on behalf of Luvindao, issued a letter of demand to Windhoek Observer on 18 October.
The firm accused the publication of making false and defamatory claims in an article titled 'Luvindao scrambles for malaria medicine from foreign missions as only a month's supply is left'.
The firm demanded a full retraction, a public apology and a copy of the alleged letter the article referenced.
However, Windhoek Observer's legal representative, Norman Tjombe of Tjombe Incorporated, says the newspaper would not retract or apologise, saying the report was true, based on verified facts and in the public's interest.
Tjombe questions whether Luvindao's instructions were in her personal or official capacity and says if she acted as a public official, Windhoek Observer would apply to the High Court to review and set aside her decision to instruct a private firm as unlawful and wasteful.
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