Sostenus Wilherm
The Namibian government has approached the High Court seeking condonation for the late filing of its plea in a lawsuit brought by Swakopmund resident Joel Tjombe, who is suing the state over the alleged mishandling and decomposition of his mother’s body after she was declared dead on arrival at Okahandja State Hospital.
The application will come before Managing Judge Justice Beatrix De Jager during a status hearing scheduled for 30 July 2026.
In a founding affidavit, Penda Ithindi, acting on behalf of the government, asks the court to condone the late filing of the government’s plea and allow it to defend the matter despite missing the prescribed deadline.
According to court documents, the Government Attorney Lindrowski Tibinyane requested instructions from the relevant ministries on 18 February 2026, but the process was delayed because both the ministry of health and social services and the ministry of home affairs, immigration, safety and security were cited as defendants in the same matter.
The government says a conflict of interest prevented the Government Attorney from representing both ministries simultaneously, making it necessary to appoint an external legal practitioner for one of the defendants.
It argues that the resulting administrative delays caused the late filing and has asked the court to accept its defence despite the missed deadline.
The application follows an application for default judgment filed by Tjombe after the government failed to deliver its plea within the prescribed period.
Court correspondence shows the ministries had until 23 June 2026 to provide instructions to the Government Attorney before the plaintiff moved for default judgment.
The underlying lawsuit stems from the death of Erika Tjombe, who was declared dead on arrival at Okahandja State Hospital on 11 December 2024.
Tjombe alleges that members of the Namibian Police delayed transporting his mother’s body to the state mortuary for more than an hour and that hospital personnel told him the transportation of the body was not their responsibility.
He further claims that he was denied access to the mortuary on several occasions before he and his relatives were eventually allowed to view the body on 17 December 2024.
The court documents indicated that the family found the corpse in a decomposed state after allegedly being informed that it had been stored in a dysfunctional mortuary facility.
Tjombe claims the body had become swollen, discoloured and severely disfigured, causing him and his family severe emotional and psychological trauma.
He is seeking N$350,000 in general damages, alleging the defendants failed to treat his mother’s body with dignity, maintain functional mortuary facilities, allow the family reasonable access to perform customary rituals and protect his constitutional right to dignity.
In its proposed defence, however, the ministry of health denies any medical negligence. The ministry’s executive director instructed that a review of the medical records found no evidence of negligence by hospital staff.
The ministry argues that once a patient is declared dead on arrival, legal responsibility for the body passes to the Namibian Police, which has statutory responsibility for its custody and handling.
The ministry further contends that police officials responsible for handling the body failed to follow established procedures governing dead-on-arrival cases.
It maintains that shortcomings in the registration of the deceased, handover procedures and communication contributed to the decomposition of the body, rather than any negligence by hospital personnel.
The High Court must now first determine whether to grant the government’s application for condonation. If successful, the state will be allowed to file its plea and defend the civil claim on its merits. If condonation is refused, the plaintiff’s application for default judgment may proceed.
