The Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement leader, Job Amupanda, has called on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to hold public interviews for candidates shortlisted for the position of prosecutor general. The pressure group is proposing the JSC consider not only having public interviews, but it should avail all the names of those that applied for the position to the public as stipulated in the constitution. “These proposals are not a utopia of my mind. They have been implemented in several countries, even in our southern Africa, including in authoritarian Zimbabwe,” said Amupanda in a letter to JSC secretary Uno Sibolile. Amupanda said should the JSC heed his request, the transparent process and procedures should be extended to the appointment of judges. The JSC advertised the position of PG earlier last month as the incumbent Martha Imalwa’s term comes to an end at the end of December. Imalwa, who has been at the helm of the PG’s office for nearly 16 years, was appointed for a 10-year term with effect from 2004. Her second term was renewed in October 2013, for a period of seven years. The recruitment process and requirements for the vacancy have been questioned by those within the legal fraternity. As a result, the JSC lowered the number of years of admission as a legal practitioner required to apply for the position to 10 years. Initially, the requirement included a 15 years post-admission experience. The new advertisement also indicates that the deadline has been moved from 16 to 30 October. The commission is, however, yet to communicate to the public its position over concerns around the nationality and post-admission requirements of the position of the prosecutor general.
-mamakali@nepc.com.na