In a historic move, Namibia has appointed three female justices to its Supreme Court. This is the first time the country has appointed senior female legal officials to its highest court since its independence in 1990. Lady Justices Rita Makarau, Johanna Prinsloo, and Esi Schimming-Chase have all been appointed as acting Supreme Court justices. The one-year appointments were made on the recommendation of Namibia’s Judicial Service Commission by Namibia’s President, H.E Dr. Hage Geingob. The appointments are slated to last from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024.
Justice Makarau previously served as a Supreme Court of Zimbabwe Judge and the High Court of Zimbabwe Judge-President. Opposition parties in Namibia have questioned Makarau’s appointment because of her alleged ties to Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party. (Namibia’s legal system allows registered legal practitioners to work across borders.) Ruth Herunga, chairperson of the Namibia Women Lawyers Association, told Voice of America that the recent development can be viewed as the proverbial breaking of a glass ceiling. Herunga also told VOA that, while women have access to political power in many African countries, they are underrepresented at the highest levels of the judiciary across the continent.
Herunga noted that with these appointments, Namibia would join other countries across the world who are recruiting women judges to join its most esteemed legal offices.
“It is now recognized that the contribution of women judges worldwide and their active participation at all levels of decision making is essential to the achievement of equality and democracy. With these appointments, Namibia also joins the ranks of other countries both on the continent as well as the world who have in recent times already appointed women judges to the highest court,” Herunga said.
Namibia’s minister of justice, Yvonne Dausab, said that the appointments were a step in the right direction, because a balanced representation of demographics would give more people faith in the country’s legal system.
“We anticipate that over the next few months there are going to be a lot of cases that involve a variety of issues and also a variety of people. You want to make sure that the bench reflects those demographics that people come from so that people have confidence in the system,” Dausab said.
Ndilimeke Auala of the Namibia Institute for Democracy shared the same sentiment, stating the appointments would strike a balance in Namibia’s Supreme Court judgments.
“Society and our processes only flourish with equal representation; Now the female judges must be held to the same standard we hold the male judges, they will be judged by the way they defend the weak in society and speak truth to power. They have the chance to influence policy to improve [sic] an equal society,” Auala said