Magistrates withhold labour from 24 November
Magistrates at Oshakati and Ondangwa Magistrates’ Courts have begun withholding their labour, following an official notice that all magistrates across Namibia will take similar action starting 24 November 2025. They cite prolonged delays and a lack of communication from the ministries of finance and justice regarding the implementation of agreed benefits.
When Network Media Hub (NMH) visited the two courts, police officers said they had no work to do while waiting. Those who arrived for cases were sitting in the waiting areas, frustrated that they had not been attended to and that “no proper communication” had been provided to them since the morning.
In a strongly worded communication, the Magistrates’ Association of Namibia (MJA) stated that its members have been without the benefits that were agreed “in principle” since 2 October 2023, despite repeated meetings with the Judicial Service Commission, the Office of the Judiciary, and the Ministry of Justice.
The notice, placed on some magistrates' offices at Oshakati and widely circulated on social media, indicates that magistrates were informed on 19 November that the corrected benefit schedule had been forwarded to the Minister of Finance for concurrence. However, no written update or clarification has been provided since then.
The MJA further stated that although N$8 million has already been allocated for the implementation of the benefits, there has been “no clarity, no written correspondence, and no substantive progress.”
Due to what they describe as a “climate of uncertainty and instability,” the MJA said its members would now exercise their constitutional right under Article 21(f) to withhold labour until the matter is resolved and the corrected alignment is implemented and gazetted.
The association stressed that the decision was “necessary and lawful” and not taken lightly.
When Network Media Hub (NMH) visited the two courts, police officers said they had no work to do while waiting. Those who arrived for cases were sitting in the waiting areas, frustrated that they had not been attended to and that “no proper communication” had been provided to them since the morning.
In a strongly worded communication, the Magistrates’ Association of Namibia (MJA) stated that its members have been without the benefits that were agreed “in principle” since 2 October 2023, despite repeated meetings with the Judicial Service Commission, the Office of the Judiciary, and the Ministry of Justice.
The notice, placed on some magistrates' offices at Oshakati and widely circulated on social media, indicates that magistrates were informed on 19 November that the corrected benefit schedule had been forwarded to the Minister of Finance for concurrence. However, no written update or clarification has been provided since then.
The MJA further stated that although N$8 million has already been allocated for the implementation of the benefits, there has been “no clarity, no written correspondence, and no substantive progress.”
Due to what they describe as a “climate of uncertainty and instability,” the MJA said its members would now exercise their constitutional right under Article 21(f) to withhold labour until the matter is resolved and the corrected alignment is implemented and gazetted.
The association stressed that the decision was “necessary and lawful” and not taken lightly.
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