Iuze Mukube
Today, the three branches of the State – Legislature, Executive and Judiciary will be running at full steam, with the legal year officially kicking off today at the Supreme Court of Namibia.
On Monday, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah presided over the opening of Cabinet (Executive). Two days later, she was in Parliament, opening the Legislature.
Today, she will open the Judiciary.
This year’s opening will set the tone for what the ministry of justice and legal professionals have hoped will be a year of meaningful reform, improved efficiency and strengthened public confidence in the country’s justice system. Justice ministry’s spokesperson, Edmund //Khoaseb stated that the expectation for this year’s opening is continued professionalism, ethical conduct, resilience, and constructive collaboration across the justice sector.
//Khoaseb stated that while role-players in the legal system are operating within a challenging environment marked by human resource constraints, budgetary pressures, and recent security concerns affecting members of the prosecutorial service.
On the matter of safety especially after the recent attack on a prosecutor in Ondangwa, he stated that the Judiciary has taken proactive steps to address safety and security concerns through the establishment of a dedicated Safety and Security Task Force.
“This initiative ref lects a collective commitment to safeguarding prosecutors and judicial officers and to ensuring that the administration of justice proceeds without intimidation or fear,” he said.
He stated that budgetary constraints affect legal aid, and this has compelled institutions to reprioritise activities and optimise available resources.
Despite prevailing challenges, he said, steady progress has been made in case finalisation such as in ongoing institutional and legislative initiatives like Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and Counter- Proliferation Financing (CPF).
“The establishment of the Safety and Security Task Force itself represents an important institutional milestone , demonstrating responsiveness to emerging risks and a commitment to preserve the independence and integrity of the justice system,” he said.
Veteran lawyer Mbanga Siyomunji stated that he is looking forward to what Chief Justice Peter Shivute indicated, plea bargaining, to come on board.
He stated that plea bargaining is a term where an accused is given an opportunity to plead guilty to a charge on condition that the offence would be substituted with a lesser offence. For instance, from the offence of dealing in drugs to a lesser offence of drug possession.
He said the Judiciary has to be more proactive in ensuring the safety of prosecutors because of the virtue of work they do.
“We expect that there should be more lawyers instructed by legal aid. Legal aid should also increase its capacity of in-house lawyers,” he said.
Siyomunji added that through law reform, there are certain obsolete laws, like the Native Proclamation Ordinance, that should be amended.
The Ordinance deals with marriages, whether marital partners are out of or in community of property, which is aligned with the Redline.
“Basically, if those can be covered, then I think, the legal year can be smooth running,” he said.
Another lawyer, Natjirikasorua Tjirera expects the reform of plea bargaining.
“Our courts should also present clear incentives to people who plead guilty. This of course should be done considering the necessary principles on sentencing,” he said.
He stated that people who take the court through years of trial and someone who swiftly gets his trial over and done with by pleading guilty are subject to the same sentencing regime.
“Some times those who plead guilty are given harsher sentences than those that who kept courts busy for years,” he added.
He stated that the Judiciary, the Law Society and the relevant parts of the ministry of justice should convene as a matter of urgency to deal with those issues.
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