I sacrificed my youth for this country - Imalwa
22 August 2019 | Local News
Prosecutor-General Martha Imalwa sacrificed her youth for the independence of Namibia and has appealed for an end to ‘a deliberate crusade to discredit her’.
Despite not enjoying her youth due to her participation in the liberation struggle, what Namibians have rewarded her with for her service is ‘psychological torture’ she has said.
The PG made this emotional account at a media conference in the capital on Wednesday.
According to Imalwa, she is considered by many Namibians as “the chief of corruption”, a term that has epitomised her as the most corrupt person in the country, she said.
“If I am corrupt, why have I not been persecuted?” she asked, adding that she is not above the law.
Imalwa was first appointed as PG in 2003 for a duration of 10 years before her mandate was renewed in 2013 when she was given a second term, this time for seven years.
“I succeeded. That is how I got the post, and because of my performance, my term was extended,” she reiterated.
Imalwa is Namibia's second prosecutor general, having succeeded, the late Hans Heyman, who served from March 1990 to November 2002.
On her 16 years at the helm of Namibia prosecuting agency, Imalwa expressed shock that her term is being questioned.
“I don’t know why you are saying I have overstayed. Is it because of Imalwa? There are judges who were appointed before I came in this post [who] are still on the bench,” she said.
“There is something sinister against Imalwa. Is it because I am a woman? Is it because I came from an unknown family?” she questioned.
The PG further dismissed claims that she has been shielding prominent politicians and their cronies from prosecution and that she allows them to disregard the country's laws with impunity.
“I don’t even know what is happening there [in Swapo]. I don’t sit in Swapo meetings. I supported Swapo when I was in exile….[but] being in exile doesn’t that you are a politician. We were fighting for the independence of this country and it doesn’t mean if you were there then you cannot do your work independently,” she said.
NAMPA
Despite not enjoying her youth due to her participation in the liberation struggle, what Namibians have rewarded her with for her service is ‘psychological torture’ she has said.
The PG made this emotional account at a media conference in the capital on Wednesday.
According to Imalwa, she is considered by many Namibians as “the chief of corruption”, a term that has epitomised her as the most corrupt person in the country, she said.
“If I am corrupt, why have I not been persecuted?” she asked, adding that she is not above the law.
Imalwa was first appointed as PG in 2003 for a duration of 10 years before her mandate was renewed in 2013 when she was given a second term, this time for seven years.
“I succeeded. That is how I got the post, and because of my performance, my term was extended,” she reiterated.
Imalwa is Namibia's second prosecutor general, having succeeded, the late Hans Heyman, who served from March 1990 to November 2002.
On her 16 years at the helm of Namibia prosecuting agency, Imalwa expressed shock that her term is being questioned.
“I don’t know why you are saying I have overstayed. Is it because of Imalwa? There are judges who were appointed before I came in this post [who] are still on the bench,” she said.
“There is something sinister against Imalwa. Is it because I am a woman? Is it because I came from an unknown family?” she questioned.
The PG further dismissed claims that she has been shielding prominent politicians and their cronies from prosecution and that she allows them to disregard the country's laws with impunity.
“I don’t even know what is happening there [in Swapo]. I don’t sit in Swapo meetings. I supported Swapo when I was in exile….[but] being in exile doesn’t that you are a politician. We were fighting for the independence of this country and it doesn’t mean if you were there then you cannot do your work independently,” she said.
NAMPA
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