Political parties have called on deputy chief justice and judge president Petrus Damaseb to reject his nomination to serve on Tanzania’s post-election violence commission of inquiry.
Office of the Judiciary chief justice Peter Shivute nominated Damaseb to serve on the Tanzanian presidential commission of inquiry to investigate the root causes of violence that followed the general elections held in October 2025.
Affirmative Repositioning leader Job Amupanda accuses the Namibian government and the Judicial Service Commission of facilitating what he describes as a politically driven process following a request by the Tanzanian government for a Namibian judge to join the commission.
Meanwhile, Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) says Damaseb’s appointment does not address concerns over Namibia’s silence on alleged human rights abuses in the East African country.
The party questions the process, saying the commission’s terms of reference would only be communicated after members are sworn in, arguing that Namibia’s second most senior judge had accepted an assignment without a defined mandate.
IPC also cites criticism by international human rights organisations of previous Tanzanian inquiries, saying Namibia risks lending credibility to a process whose independence and effectiveness remain in doubt.
The party stresses that it was not questioning Damaseb’s integrity, describing him as one of Namibia’s finest jurists, but argues that his reputation could strengthen a commission before its powers and scope are publicly known.
“Namibia should publicly address [Tundu] Lissu’s continued detention rather than limit its engagement to judicial cooperation,” IPC member of parliament Rodney Cloete says.
