Some Walvis Bay residents are accusing the local authority council of appointing David Uushona as acting Chief Executive Officer to interfere with the ongoing Red Force investigation.

The municipality's contract with Red Force Debt Management is under investigation, as it is suspected that the contract was awarded dubiously.

The Walvis Bay Council Management Committee met on June 13 and replaced the Acting Chief Executive Officer at that time, John Esterhuizen, with David Uushona.

Esterhuizen is a general manager, and Uushona, who is a manager, reports to him.

"Why do you appoint a manager while there are senior general managers available who can be appointed to act as CEO? We believe that the decision was deliberately made to pave the way for interference with the Red Force investigation," said community activist Elvis Goseb.

The community activist questioned the reinstatement of suspended staff members while the investigation was ongoing.

The community members expressed frustration when they handed over a petition to demand the removal of the Red Force.

They further demanded that the findings of the final investigation into the Red Force contract be made public.

Mayor Trevino Forbes received the petition and said the matter is in court.

However, Forbes said at a recent media conference that Uushona was not appointed to interfere with the investigation.

"I think Mr. Uushona was in fact the one that engaged the procurement board to look into the matter of Red Force and other agencies; he also approached them to look into the Red Force matter. So I don't want to go too in-depth on the Red Force matter, but I can say that he is not doing as people think he might be doing."

Uushona will continue to act in the position until the new CEO, Victoria Kapenda, takes up the post in September.