ON the 9th February 1990, the delegates to the Constituent Assembly, under the chairmanship of Hage Geingob, met for the last time to sign the document they had just created. That document became the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia and the foundation of our political system.
The Constituent Assembly was particularly important in that not only was it concerned with determining the truth or falsity of events that took place in the past, but was also concerned with determining whether or not particular actions should or should not be taken in the future. That august assembly was concerned about how certain political values were going to be dealt with in the present given the divergent views of the political parties at the time.
This is illustrated in the preamble as follows: “We the people of Namibia are determined to adopt a Constitution which expresses for ourselves and our children our resolve to cherish and to protect the gains of our long struggle…”
In subtle language, the constitution affirms the sovereignty of our people over any branch of government.
Our founding fathers and mothers gave us a constitutional democracy that is characterised by popular sovereignty, limited government, majority rule and the rule of law. In the main, constitutional democracy is the antithesis of arbitrary rule.
Every constitution combines in one body a declaration of political intent, a commitment to an ideology and an assertion of national purpose combined with a blueprint for political action expressed in legal terms. As such it reflects, in a capsule form, the people’s view of the nation and the world. Like all national documents written by mere human beings, every constitution may be expected to contain a dose of erroneous interpretation of past experiences and of existing national and international realities. Because of that, constitutions must not be rigid, but allow enough room to unbound ourselves should national interest so dictate.
Our present constitution was the best outcome under the circumstances and for that alone the debt we owe our founding fathers and mothers is enormous. It took them only 80 days to craft the constitution, while it took the Americans and the French two years and more than one thousand delegates to write their constitutions.
The constitution presents us with a fresh challenge: how to distribute the country’s resources without violating the very constitution that we so much cherish. The constitution created a consensus on a number of issues, Namibians have regularly elected leaders based on the will of the majority, the media have continued to operate freely and the courts have acted independently.
As a corollary to the latter, our courts have ensured that the rule of law is respected and have consistently sent messages that no one is above the law or below it. Our constitution, the supreme law of the Repoublic, will surely stand the test of time. Happy 24th anniversary!
By The Editor