Windhoek Observer

Justicia Shipena The High Court has dismissed a N$700 000 damages lawsuit by Norman Kavara, an inmate at the Hardap Correctional Facility, who claimed correctional officers humiliated him during a strip-search in August 2021. The judgement delivered on Thursday found that Kavara did not prove that officers unlawfully stripped him, handcuffed him or forced him to perform degrading frog jumps while naked. Kavara is serving a twelve-and-a-half-year sentence for murder. He sued the minister of home affairs, safety and security, the head of the Namibia Correctional Service (NSC), Raphael Hamunyela and three senior officials from Hardap. He claimed they violated…

By 2035, Namibia is expected to become the world’s cheapest producer of green ammonia. Green ammonia produced in Namibia could cost €693 per tonne (about N$13,800) by 2035, a new study shows. The study, commissioned by the German Energy Agency and the Climate Neutrality Foundation, says this would make Namibian production far cheaper than future output in Europe. By comparison, green ammonia made in Germany is projected to cost €1,130 per tonne (around N$22,500), even with expected technological improvements. The study finds that Namibia could supply green ammonia up to 40% cheaper than European producers well into the future, positioning…

Justicia Shipena A new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) and the Namibian Police Force (Nampol) will create a framework for intelligence sharing, cooperation and operational alignment across the diamond value chain. The two institutions signed the agreement on Thursday at the Police National Headquarters in Windhoek. The agreement follows a robbery in January that involved the theft of diamonds worth about N$350 million from Namdia's Windhoek headquarters. The incident also led to the deaths of Namdia executive Francis Eiseb and one of the suspects, Max Endjala. Acting Namdia chief executive officer Lelly Usiku said the partnership…

The High Court has ruled that a performance appraisal prepared by Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) chief administrator Freddy Mwiya for former executive for finance Junias Thomas Hamalua was a “sham”, as it did not meet the contractual requirement of continuous, annual evaluations. The finding formed part of a judgement dismissing Hamalua’s attempt to overturn the commission’s decision not to renew his five-year contract. High Court judge president Shafimana Ueitele said Mwiya’s February 2023 performance analysis failed to show how the former executive had been appraised throughout his contract term from 2018 to 2023. He noted that the interim board had…

The Ministry of Justice and Labour Relations has launched a nationwide campaign to help employers and employees understand the national minimum wage (NMW), set last year at N$18 per hour. The launch took place on Thursday in Windhoek. The ministry's deputy executive director, Aune Mudjanima, said the educational materials were developed with support from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to provide clear and reliable information. She said access to information helps workers and employers make informed decisions and improves compliance with labour laws. Mudjanima said the materials explain what the minimum wage entails, how it should be applied and the…