Staff Reporter
THE Office of the Judiciary has rebutted claims made by the former managing editor of the state-owned New Era newspaper, Jonathan Beukes, who alleged tribal favouritism within the judiciary. Beukes called for the Minister of Justice to make public findings on an alleged investigation regarding the regional demographics of magistrates qualified for appointment to the High Court.
Similar claims of judicial favouritism surfaced in 2023 when a court official accused the Prosecutor General of promoting only Aandonga and Aakwambi prosecutors from district courts. However, these claims were not proven, and Informanté did not publish the said complaints.
In the recent matter, the judiciary explained that the statistic in question, which states that “34% of magistrates who qualify for appointment to the High Court come from the Zambezi Region,” was not the result of an investigation. Instead, it originated from a response issued by the Office of the Judiciary to a query from New Era newspaper dated 3 October 2024.
“The query concerned a publication about an anonymous WhatsApp message circulating on social media. The WhatsApp message alleged that 90% of magistrates who qualify for appointment to the High Court are from the Zambezi Region. In response, the Office of the Judiciary clarified that of the approximately 29 magistrates who meet the qualifications for appointment to the High Court, 10 are from the Zambezi Region, representing 34%,” said Delila Salatiel, Acting Deputy Director of Public Relations.
Salatiel added that the judiciary emphasizes that this statistic was provided purely to address the social media claim and does not stem from any investigation.
“As such, there is no investigation for the Honourable Minister of Justice to make findings on or disclose to the public. The Office of the Judiciary reminds the public that the process of judicial appointment in Namibia is a transparent, merit-based process conducted in full compliance with the constitutional framework and applicable legislation,” Salatiel concluded.
