Judiciary moves to establish Kavango West court

The Office of the Judiciary has begun assessing temporary premises in Nkurenkuru that could be converted into a magistrate's court as it moves to establish a permanent judicial presence in the Kavango West Region.

Residents currently rely on the Kahenge Periodical Court, which sits only once a week, while construction of the long-planned Nkurenkuru Magistrate's Court remains on hold because of funding constraints.

Speaking to Namibian Sun during a site visit this week, Office of the Judiciary executive director Benhardt Kukuri said officials had inspected several buildings that could potentially be converted into court facilities.

"We went to three or four places to identify potential places that we're going to use as a court while we are still pursuing the route of construction," he said.

Any selected building would require alterations to meet court standards, including security features and holding cells.

"Between now and early December, if we can secure a place, we'll make the necessary alterations and address issues such as holding cells and security features before commencing operations," Kukuri said.

He said the visit was aimed at establishing court services in the region as quickly as possible.

"Kavango West doesn't have a substantive district court. It's not good in terms of access to justice and the overall work of the Judiciary that we don't have a presence in the region," he said.

Temporary plans

Kukuri said establishing a magistrate's court in Nkurenkuru would also ease pressure on the Rundu Magistrate's Court by allowing cases from Kavango West to be heard locally instead of in Kavango East.

Construction of the permanent court remains a priority, but progress depends on government funding.

"The court in Nkurenkuru is an ongoing project. It's only that we were halted by finance," Kukuri said, adding that the design phase has already been completed.

"We need to secure the funding from National Treasury and the Public Service Commission."

The Judiciary is pursuing a similar approach in Omuthiya in the Oshikoto Region, where temporary arrangements are also being considered.

"Omuthiya doesn't have a substantive court, so we also wanted to do something there. At least the two regions that don't have substantive courts will have a judicial presence," Kukuri said.