Kora Awards promoter loses appeal over N$23,5m tourism board debt

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by African music awards promoter Ernest Adjovi’s company Mundial Telecom SARL over a payment of N$23,5 million it received from the Namibia Tourism Board to stage the All Africa Kora Music Awards in Namibia in 2016.

The court dismissed Mundial Telecom’s appeal and ordered it to pay the tourism board’s legal costs in the appeal in a judgement delivered on Wednesday.

Mundial Telecom appealed to the Supreme Court after High Court judge Herman Oosthuizen ordered in January 2022 that the company should repay N$23,5 million that it received from the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) in December 2015 and January 2016 to stage the awards ceremony in Namibia in March 2016.

The awards ceremony, which was backed by then president Hage Geingob as well, never took place, despite promises by Adjovi and his company.

The High Court also ordered that Mundial Telecom should pay interest at an annual rate of 20% on the amount of N$23,5 million it should repay the NTB, with the interest to be calculated from the start of July 2016.

The company’s appeal was heard by appeal judges Sylvester Mainga and Dave Smuts and acting judge of appeal Theo Frank at the start of last week.