Ex-magistrate wants N$5m over ‘unlawful’ imprisonment

Former Windhoek magistrate Hileni Kavara is suing Namibia's correctional authorities for N$5 million, claiming she was unlawfully kept in prison for eight months after her parole was revoked in 2023.Kavara was serving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence after she was convicted in 2021 of defeating or obstructing the course of justice and corruptly using a false document.The convictions stemmed from her intervention in a cocaine-dealing case involving her then-boyfriend, Mohammed Shabani. The court found that she had made a backdated entry on the case record to reinstate his N$50 000 bail after he failed to appear in court.Kavara’s lawsuit says she was released on parole on 24 February 2023 and complied with its conditions.“I remained under the supervision of correctional authorities as required by the conditions of my parole,” her founding affidavit states.Two months later, authorities said she had breached a parole condition warranting her return to prison.The revocation followed her arrest in April 2023 on allegations of crimen injuria and assault by threat, after a confrontation with officials at the Office of the Master of the High Court.Kavara says she appeared in the Windhoek Magistrates’ Court and was granted bail on the April charges. She argues that although the allegations had not been proven, authorities revoked her parole.“I was effectively deprived of an opportunity to challenge the allegations before the revocation of my parole and the consequent deprivation of my liberty,” Kavara said.Back insideShe was imprisoned at the Windhoek Female Correctional Facility from 25 April until 20 December 2023.She was acquitted of the charges stemming from the April incident in the Windhoek Magistrates’ Court on 13 December. However, she remained in prison for another week and was released only after approaching the High Court.“The High Court declared the revocation of my parole unlawful and ordered my immediate release. The order remains extant, binding and unchallenged,” she noted in her N$5 million lawsuit.N$5m damagesKavara is seeking N$5 million for deprivation of liberty, emotional and psychological distress, reputational harm and lost opportunities.She says her continued detention affected her ability to rebuild her life after being released on parole.“The longer the deprivation of liberty persisted, the greater the emotional, psychological and social consequences became,” she said.The former magistrate is the daughter of the late Swapo councillor and member of Parliament, Rosa Kavara.Hurled ‘insults’Deputy officer in charge of correctional operations at the Windhoek Female Correctional Facility Vivian Mwendamena Masiye gives a different account of Kavara’s conduct while in custody.In papers filed at court, she says Kavara was upset when brought to her office following her re-arrest.“Kavara was agitated, kept hurling insults about being tired of being hunted by Caprivians, and made disrespectful remarks about me and both my parents.“I asked her why she was behaving like that and she indicated that the person who registered the case against her (complainant) was also Caprivian and she apparently felt hunted,” Masiye said.Masiye says Kavara later apologised.“She later became apologetic for her disrespectful demeanour. Despite the plaintiff’s behaviour, the authority provided her with all her basic needs.”Kavara served as a Windhoek magistrate from 2013 until her suspension in January 2016. She later resigned from the magistracy.LEGAL BATTLE: Former magistrate Hileni Kavara is seeking N$5 million in damages over her detention after her parole was revoked. PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED

Ex-magistrate wants N$5m over ‘unlawful’ imprisonment

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-09

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Ex-magistrate wants N$5m over ‘unlawful’ imprisonment

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-09

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