Allexer Namundjembo
The Office of the Judiciary has announced that court operations at the Omuthiya Periodical Court will officially commence on Monday, 8 June 2026, bringing essential judicial services closer to residents of the Oshikoto Region.
“The initiation of court operations will provide essential judicial services to the community, enhance access to justice and facilitate the delivery of services in closer proximity to the community of Omuthiya and surrounding areas,” the Office of the Judiciary said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Currently, residents of Omuthiya travel to the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court to access court services.
To address this, the Office of the Judiciary acquired and refurbished a property in Omuthiya to function as a temporary courthouse.
The temporary facility will ensure the continuity of judicial services until the completion of a larger, purpose-built and more inclusive courthouse. The Omuthiya Periodical Court will offer the full range of judicial and administrative services ordinarily available at magistrates courts throughout the country.
These include conducting criminal proceedings, the solemnization of marriages, handling maintenance disputes, payment of court fines, disbursement of witness fees, and receiving and refunding bail payments.
Media representatives have been invited to participate in a guided walkthrough of the court building on Friday, 5 June 2026 (today), to familiarise personnel with the court’s features and operational procedures.
“The Office of the Judiciary extends sincere gratitude to all stakeholders who collaborated to ensure the successful operationalisation of the Omuthiya Periodical Court,” said Vikitoria Hango, deputy director of public relations in the Office of the Judiciary. The move follows years of appeals from regional leaders and residents.
In 2025, the Windhoek Observer reported that the Office of the Judiciary was working to address long-standing complaints about the lack of magistrates’ courts in several major towns across the country.
At the time, executive director in the judiciary, Bernhard Kukuri said measures were underway to bring court services closer to communities.
“We cannot build now, but the house that we have managed to acquire will now be used as a court in the meantime until such a time that funds are available to construct a proper facility. We will now start to offload matters that are currently going to Ondangwa,” Kukuri told the Windhoek Observer in 2025.
He added that for civil matters, the judiciary would look into whether additional facilities could be linked to provide services from there.
Kukuri noted that although the judiciary’s capital budget for the 2025/26 financial year was focused on a new court project in Nkurenkuru, towns such as Omuthiya and Okahao remained priorities for future development.
The judiciary was allocated N$534.9 million set aside for operations and N$240.9 million.
The issue had been raised repeatedly by regional leaders.
Former Oshikoto governor Penda ya Ndakolo appealed for the urgent construction of a magistrate’s court in Omuthiya, stressing that residents had to travel up to 170 kilometres to Tsumeb or more than 100 kilometres to Ondangwa for hearings or marriages. A parliamentary oversight visit by the standing committee on constitutional and legal affairs also revealed that about 80% of cases handled at Ondangwa originated from Oshikoto.
In 2018, Chief Justice Peter Shivute disclosed that plans for an Omuthiya court had already been drafted, but construction was waiting on financial resources.
Since gaining administrative independence in 2015 under Article 78(5) of the Constitution, the judiciary has been responsible for its own administration and budget, separate from the Ministry of Justice.
“We are aware that Omuthiya, Nkurenkuru and Okahao are major towns without courts. These remain on our agenda,” Kukuri said in 2025, admitting that financial constraints remained a challenge but that the judiciary was committed to gradually expanding access to justice.
