Tjombe differs with Swartbooi on judges’ appointment

Independent lawyer Norman Tjombe has rubbished statements by Landless People’s Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi that only lawyers from law firms with political connections to the ruling party are appointed as acting judges to the courts.

Speaking in Parliament this week, Swartbooi said lawyers with ties to Swapo – including those who preside over the ruling party’s internal elective processes – often end up being appointed as acting judges or judges of appeal.

Swartbooi, himself a trained lawyer, said this practice compromises the independence of the judiciary.

“These are things that we picked up as practitioners. People talk about the independence of the judiciary, but from whose perspective?” he said in the National Assembly.

Responding in Parliament, justice minister Yvonne Dausab said his allegations are ‘quite serious’ and that the office of the chief justice must publicly state its case.

Merit

Tjombe, in a statement yesterday, argued that the Namibian judiciary is ‘remarkably independent, and compares even more favourably than many of the much older judiciaries elsewhere’.

“Rulings and judgments, especially where the issues to be determined are politically charged, are testimony to that,” he wrote.

“The recent and more notable judgments of the Supreme Court in Swartbooi v The Speaker of the National Assembly (SA 38-2021) [2021] NASC (4 August 2021) is perhaps a good example,” he said, in reference to how the court ruled in favour of Swartbooi and his deputy Henny Seibeb after they were banned from Parliament.

“A cursory reading of easily accessible information will show that the appointments were on merit. The most recent acting appointments were two magistrates of many years of standing, justices David Munsu and Duard Kesslau, and justice George Coleman, who has been an advocate for over 32 years,” he added.

“Prior to that, justices Orben Sibeya and Eileen Rakow were appointed as full-time judges after serving for close to a year as acting judges. Justice Sibeya was a deputy prosecutor-general and then a lawyer in private practice for several years prior to being appointed as a judge. Justice Rakow was a senior officer in the Office of the Ombudsman and, prior to that, a magistrate for many years.

“Former senior magistrate Ileni Velikoshi was also appointed as an acting judge to the High Court. Justice Claudia Claasen was a magistrate for 14 years before she was appointed as an acting judge.

“Kaijata Kangueehi, a lawyer in private practice for over 20 years, was also appointed as an acting judge,” Tjombe reminded Swartbooi.

“Elize Angula and advocate Gerson Narib were appointed as acting judges. Angula has been in private practice for many years, and Narib was in private practice at the Legal Assistance Centre, then at the Government Attorney, where he was deputy government attorney before joining the bar as an advocate,” the statement read.

Receipts

“Justice Boas Usiku, who was a magistrate, then legal advisor to the National Council and then in private practice for many years, also served as an acting judge for a short stint, before being appointed on a permanent basis. Sisa Namandje was appointed on two occasions – 2008 and 2010 – as an acting judge to the High Court,” Tjombe wrote.

“An obvious reference to Namandje having been involved in the intra-party elections of Swapo, as a demonstration by Swartbooi that persons with political connections are appointed as acting judges, is devoid of any truth. Namandje was appointed as acting judge in 2008 and 2010, and presided over the Swapo elections only in 2012 and 2017, which were after his two stints as an acting judge.”