Without effort, nothing prospers

Michelline Nawatises Siyeleka Lomba dos Santos was born and raised in the dusty streets of Okandjengeti in Oshakati.She remembers being a carefree, caring and hardworking child.What comes to mind when she reminisces about those days is that children were raised by villagers with love, care and protection.Some of the social evils like gender-based violence and child abuse were not prevalent during her childhood.She grew up in a humble home with hardworking parents, who with the little they had were able to provide for their seven children. She is the second-born. Her upbringing and the humble demeanour of her parents taught her valuable lessons about life, and those lessons are the anchors that have steered Dos Santos throughout her career and life. Her dreams and vision are what kept her committed to becoming a better version of herself, as she excelled at school and along her distance-learning journey to becoming a lawyer through the University of South Africa (Unisa).She passed her justice training, with merit, on the first try. She is currently on the roll to be admitted as a legal practitioner of the High Court of Namibia in October 2019.Being hardworking was a visible character trait since childhood. During school holidays she used to beg her parents to assist her with finding holiday jobs, so she could assist them with paying for school fees and to buy school uniforms. “That dream materialised when I turned 16, when I found part-time employment at a local clothing shop. When I got paid, I immediately handed over my salary to my mom and told her that she now does not have to worry about our school fees and uniforms,” she says.Dos Santos attended International Primary School and Mweshipandeka High School, and in 1999 she enrolled at the University of East London for an information and communications technology (ICT) diploma. When she returned to Namibia, Norman Tjombe, who was then a lawyer at the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), recommended that she applies for a temporary project assistant position at the centre, an opportunity she gladly grabbed. She worked hard and proved her capabilities.At the end of a three-month contract she was offered permanent employment as a project assistant in the juvenile justice department at the LAC, under the supervision of a woman she highly respects, Celeste Zaahl. During the years that followed she was promoted to personal assistant to the director. “My legal career began with their teachings, mentoring, support, inspiration and motivation to strive for greatness, I was driven to succeed and to achieve my lifelong goal to go to university,” Dos Santos said. With the assistance of the LAC, she enrolled for a bachelor of laws at Unisa and completed her degree in 2015. Dos Santos’ career ended at the LAC in 2014, after 15 years of service.He then joined Namcor in April 2014 as the governance support officer in the corporate governance department. Dos Santos recently rose to the position of legal manager. She is responsible for overseeing Namcor’s legal functions, including providing legal advice and services and negotiating legal and commercial matters and contracts.She says it is a privilege to work with very experienced, skilled and respected people like managing director Immanuel Mulunga, whose leadership is excellent and very commendable, as well as Damoline Muruko (executive: corporate governance), who transfers her skills and motivates her to reach her full potential. Johannes Gawaxab, a previous Namcor board chairperson, motivated her by saying she has great capabilities and potential, “so if you remain stagnant you have no one else to blame but yourself”. No day is the same in her current job. “I could easily walk in and commence with contract negotiation meetings with the commercial teams or be locked up in my office reviewing a contract or preparing legal opinions,” Dos Santos said. With her mother losing her sight last year and her father being diagnosed with throat cancer, it was a devastating year for Dos Santos and her family, but she is inspired by the fact that despite everything, her parents remain united in love and are always positive about life. “This reinforces my mantra that despite the challenges we face in life we should always be grateful to God for everything we have and for just waking up each morning,” she says.She is in awe of the opportunities granted to her since she joined the oil and gas sector.She enrolled at the University of Aberdeen Scotland for an LLM in oil and gas law, as there is a shortage of lawyers in Namibia with this skillset. Her next mission is to learn how to swim. What she fears is time going by too fast.

Without effort, nothing prospers

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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Without effort, nothing prospers

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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