Namibia paid one genocide lawyer N$16m
A Namibian lawyer based in the United Kingdom was paid N$16 million for legal advice on the government's reparations demand against Germany for the 1904-08 Nama and OvaHerero genocide.
So far the case has cost the government N$32 million.
Anna Uukelo is one of four lawyers contracted by the government. The others are European advocates Dexter Dias (N$14 million), Richard Reynolds (N$385 401) and Cameron Milles (N$816 574).
Attorney-general Sacky Shanghala told the National Assembly that payment was made in full, albeit just in time before the lawyers took legal action to compel the government to pay.
He regretted the general slow payment of legal practitioners, saying that the last time the government had paid lawyers was in April this year.
“Soon the government will find itself in a situation where lawyers do not want to take on its cases,” he said.
Shanghala expressed satisfaction with the quality of the lawyers' work but he was not prepared to divulge their legal strategies while negotiations are continuing.
“The Germans are taking legal advice and this is evident from the composition of their negotiation team; so are we,” he stressed.
He added that there would certainly be “further consultations” with the lawyers.
“When you instruct counsel, you analyse the matter and determine what you want to obtain. Do you want to keep the other party in court for the longest time? Do you want to deal with technicalities? Do you seek to make changes to jurisdiction, and if so, do you want an academic approach or a senior jurisprudential argument or research presented? Case strategy is something we think of all the time,” said Shanghala.
JEMIMA BEUKES
So far the case has cost the government N$32 million.
Anna Uukelo is one of four lawyers contracted by the government. The others are European advocates Dexter Dias (N$14 million), Richard Reynolds (N$385 401) and Cameron Milles (N$816 574).
Attorney-general Sacky Shanghala told the National Assembly that payment was made in full, albeit just in time before the lawyers took legal action to compel the government to pay.
He regretted the general slow payment of legal practitioners, saying that the last time the government had paid lawyers was in April this year.
“Soon the government will find itself in a situation where lawyers do not want to take on its cases,” he said.
Shanghala expressed satisfaction with the quality of the lawyers' work but he was not prepared to divulge their legal strategies while negotiations are continuing.
“The Germans are taking legal advice and this is evident from the composition of their negotiation team; so are we,” he stressed.
He added that there would certainly be “further consultations” with the lawyers.
“When you instruct counsel, you analyse the matter and determine what you want to obtain. Do you want to keep the other party in court for the longest time? Do you want to deal with technicalities? Do you seek to make changes to jurisdiction, and if so, do you want an academic approach or a senior jurisprudential argument or research presented? Case strategy is something we think of all the time,” said Shanghala.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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