Menzies Aviation has maintained that it was not evicted, but was forced out of the Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) by the Deputy Sheriff and the Namibian Police Force (NamPol).
The British ground handling services company was evicted from HKIA on 19 August.
Menzies in a media statement on Tuesday said “The company was stopped at the gate and was prohibited from entering the airport while NAC and Paragon used the Deputy Sheriff and the Namibian Police Force to prevent Menzies’ entrance to the airport by force,”
It stressed that until the high court application challenging the said eviction is finalised, it will not hand over any cargo to the lawful consignees. The company however will hand over the Blood Transfusion Service of Namibia’s (NamBTS) critical lifesaving equipment on Wednesday.
This was after a mediation process held on Monday involving the Namibia Airports Company (NAC) and Paragon Investment Holdings.
“If Menzies was indeed evicted, as so falsely claimed by Paragon and the NAC, it would have been possible for Menzies to take all its belongings from the airport, and it would also have been permissible for Menzies to hand over all cargo to the lawful consignees,” the statement reads.
It went on to say that Paragon and the NAC did not execute any court order to evict Menzies, and that it instead prevented the court order – which they claim they rely on – from being executed. In fact, the truth is that they acted in contempt of the very order they seek to rely on, it said.
Meanwhile, Paragon Managing Director Lazarus Jacobs said Menzies’ statement is a misrepresentation of what transpired in the meeting.
“We will overlook the bruised egos and focus on the real issues. The blood reagents will be delivered to NamBTS,” Jacobs said on Tuesday.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency