Staff Reporter
THE Minister of Justice and Labour Relations, Wise Immanuel, has said that he will not be pressured into signing the work-benefit increment agreement for striking magistrates at gunpoint, adding that the current demands made by the magistrates are not in line with the terms agreed upon in the October 2023 agreement signed by the former finance and justice ministers.
The minister made these remarks at a press conference held in the afternoon hours of Thursday, 28 November 2025, in which he condemned the strike action currently being taken by magistrates, which he termed a gross violation of citizens’ rights.
The minister further said that critical questions need to be asked, such as what would happen at the end of the month to magistrates who have stayed away from their work, and what the legal repercussions of such action would be.
During the briefing, the minister said that records reveal that consultations took place between the then Minister of Justice and the Magistrates Commission between 2022 and 2023.
This culminated in government, through the Ministry of Finance, making a budgetary provision of N$8 million for the adjustments of the said allowances, but effective in the 2025/2026 financial year.
He, however, said that the demands are different from what was recommended in the letter dated 8 July 2025 by the Magistrates and Judges Association.
“It is completely out of tune with what Shiimi documented in his concurrence letter of October 2023. In terms of Shiimi’s letter of October 2023, Deputy Chief Magistrates, Divisional Magistrates and Regional Court Magistrates were not to get any adjustments in terms of the housing allowance,” the minister said.
He further added that senior magistrates and magistrates were also not supposed to get any adjustments in terms of the car allowance.
“However, proposals dated 8 July 2025 and 7 December 2025 from the Magistrates and Judges Association included [adjustments] without any mention of how Shiimi’s approval concurred with the suggested new benefits,” Immanuel said.
The Justice Minister further said that there is a tendency to misrepresent information to new office holders during transitions in government, and added that should the Magistrates and Judges Association wish to have benefits that are not in concurrence with what the former Minister of Finance, Iipumbu Shiimi, and then Justice Minister, Yvonne Dausab, concurred on initially, consultations should start anew so that he may independently apply his mind, as the agreement would have long-term repercussions on state coffers.
The minister further directed magistrates to return to duty and said that government is open to negotiations. “This is not a dispute of rights, but of interests; you cannot force anyone, it is a subject of negotiation,” Immanuel said.
He added that a letter dated 25 November from the Magistrates Commission directed magistrates to return to work, but they have not received any response.
The minister said that the next course of action can only be guided by the magistrates’ decision. “They must come on record and say we are not ready to continue with work.”
Photos: File/NBC Digital News
