Acting prosecutor general Martha Imalwa says she is looking forward to leaving her office at the end of the year.
This comes amid the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) this week announcing it will restart the recruitment process for a substantive prosecutor general (PG) after none of the eight shortlisted candidates met the required standard in a written assessment.
“I’m just waiting for December to come so I can go and rest. I’m already planning my exit, and there will be a time when I can engage you to thank the Namibian nation,” she said yesterday.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah appointed Imalwa to act until the end of 2026 after her term as PG ended in December.
Imalwa was first appointed PG in 2004 for an initial 10-year term. Her contract was renewed in 2013 for a further seven years and again in 2020 for another five years.
She is Namibia’s second PG having succeeded the late Hans Heyman, who served from March 1990 until November 2002.
Asked whether she would accept another extension if the recruitment process fails again, Imalwa declined to speculate.
“I am acting PG until 31 December. I cannot predict things which I am not aware of . . . and what is in my mind is private,” she said.
She said the public should not be concerned about the recruitment process restarting.
“If they are restarting, why should people worry?” she asked.
The JSC on Tuesday announced that none of the eight shortlisted candidates met the standard required for the country’s top prosecutorial position.
It said the candidates failed to demonstrate the level of legal knowledge and competence expected of a person seeking appointment to one of the country’s most senior positions in the criminal justice system.
Applications for the post closed on 16 January.
PENDING CASES
The next PG could begin their tenure with a heavy workload.
The Namibian in December reported that about 98 cases remain parked at Imalwa’s office, with some dating back to 2016.
Some of the cases awaiting a prosecution decision include the SME Bank matter (involving N$247 million), the Namibia Airports Company (involving N$360 million), the national fuel storage tender built for N$5 billion, and a Chinese health medicine container tender worth N$7 million.
Imalwa has rejected claims that her office was delaying attending to high-profile cases submitted by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
In a statement issued last year, Imalwa’s office clarifies its position on a number of pending matters, including the Namibia Airports Company case involving corruption allegations over the awarding of tenders worth over N$360 million in which former chief executive Tamer El-Kallawi is implicated.
“This is a complex matter that is with the Office of the Prosecutor General. The previously assigned advocate resigned at the end of August 2025, therefore, the matter is to be reassigned to a new state advocate who will need to study the entirety of the case load and as such will need time,” the statement reads.
Moving forward, the JSC will restart the recruitment process and invite new applications, while the eight candidates who failed the previous round will also be allowed to apply again.
Among the shortlisted candidates were First National Bank legal adviser Taswald July, a former deputy prosecutor general, private legal practitioner Salomon Kanyemba, a former prosecutor, and Lucious Matota, chief prosecutor at the Oshakati High Court.
Deputy prosecutors general Henry Muhongo and Ruben Shileka were also shortlisted. This was the second time July has applied for the position. According to the commission, the assessment was marked out of 100. The highest score achieved was 49%, while the lowest was 30%.
‘WASTEFUL’
Independent Patriots for Change parliamentary leader Imms Nashinge says the decision to restart the process has created questions that need to be answered publicly.
He says there is growing concern that politics may be influencing the process and that the public has not been given enough information to understand why all eight candidates failed.
“The ruling party wants to have its own individual they can control to make sure we don’t move from the current state of affairs where corruption thrives,” Nashinge says.
He questions why the standards being applied now appear different from those used in previous appointments.
Nashinge also wants to know why the existing candidates are allowed to reapply.
“That doesn’t make sense. What will change this time around? Are they going to make it easier?” he asks.
The PG is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the JSC.
The involvement of the president in judicial appointments remains a subject of debate, particularly because the JSC itself is chaired by judges appointed by the president.
Affirmative Repositioning member of parliament George Kambala agrees that the candidates who failed should be disqualified.
“This is not a normal exam where you have a second or third opportunity. If you fail the first hurdle, you fail the first hurdle,” he says.
Kambala says restarting the process could fuel speculation about political interference.
Popular Democratic Movement president McHenry Venaani describes the failed recruitment process as a waste of resources.
“It shows people who are competent have no interest in this very important position of our country. They have no trust, and they probably have no interest in terms of the remuneration,” he says.
Venaani says the search for a new PG should now be conducted under stricter requirements.
Landless People’s Movement member of parliament Eneas Emvula also questions the outcome.
“Does this mean the outgoing PG did not go through an assessment?” he asks.
‘CAST YOUR NET’
Emvula says Namibia should consider widening its search if suitable candidates cannot be found locally.
“There’s nothing wrong with extending the adverts to the outside world,” he says.
Former parliamentarian Josef Kauandenge describes the failed recruitment process as a sign of poor succession planning.
“I mean the current PG has been in that office for the last 20 years or so. Why did she not prepare someone within the office to take over from her?” he asks.
Six years ago, several opposition parties and commentators called for Imalwa’s removal after she revealed there was no hope of recovering more than N$600 million lost in the Government Institutions Pension Fund scandal.
