Hertta-Maria Amutenja
Ralph Sachika, the Karas chief regional officer has shed light on past judicial outreach efforts in southern Namibia, following recent proposals to establish a southern division of the High Court of Namibia in Oranjemund.
Sachika highlighted historical arrangements for legal services in the region, noting that High Court judges from Windhoek had previously travelled to Keetmanshoop to hear cases.
“It is difficult for us to attribute it or support it. It would have been better for us to receive some context and the angle from which that particular political party made the statements. Orandjamund is 500 kilometres from the capital of the south. In the past, there used to be an outreach of the high court in Keetmanshoop which is the regional capital of the south. This was done by Windhoek high court judges who used to come and hear some cases here,” said
This comes after suggestions made by Job Amupanda of the Affirmative Repositioning movement (AR), which involves creating a southern division of the High Court, to be based in Oranjemund.
Amupanda, in his public statement, proposed that the new division should complement the existing divisions in Windhoek and Oshakati, with each division headed by a Judge President. This move, according to Amupanda, would ensure better access to justice for the southern regions, while also preserving the town of Oranjemund’s future relevance in the country’s economy.
“When diamonds are gone, Oranjemund will not become a ghost town. Green hydrogen cases will be adjudicated at Oranjemund,” stated Amupanda.
In his broader call for judicial reforms, Amupanda also advocated for the separation of the roles of Deputy Chief Justice and Judge President, claiming that the current arrangement allows the same individual to assign judges to cases and later sit on appeal for the same cases.
He emphasized the need for a clear division of powers, particularly in the High Court and Supreme Court, to ensure transparency and fairness in the judicial process.
“The Judge President takes decisions of assigning judges to specific cases and because he is the Deputy Chief Justice, at the same time sits on appeal against the very cases he assigned judges to. AR Government will end this,” Amupanda stated.
Amupanda asserted that Justice Petrus Damaseb should be the last individual to hold both roles simultaneously, describing the current system as flawed.
“Justice Petrus Damaseb, who is a brilliant legal mind, will be the last person to double as Deputy Chief Justice and Judge President. If you think about it carefully, he is effectively the one who runs the judiciary, not Peter Shivute,” said Amupanda.
