Banner Left
Banner Right

IPC faces scrutiny over hiring South African lawyers for election court challenges

LEGAL TEAM … south african senior counsel an- ton Katz (left), Kessler perumalsamy (middle) and Windhoek-based lawyers James diedericks (right) and dirk Conradie (back) are representing the inde- pendent patriots for Change in their current legal challenges of namibia’s 2024 elections. Photo: Werner Menges

The Independent Patriots for Change’s (IPC) decision to hire South African lawyers for its election court challenges, ongoing in Namibia’s Electoral Court and Supreme Court, has been questioned.

IPC is being represented by South African senior counsel Anton Katz, assisted by Kessler Perumalsamy, who is also from South Africa and Windhoek-based lawyer James Diedericks in its legal challenge of Namibia’s National Assembly and presidential election results last November.

Local lawyer Kadhila Amoomo took issue with the matter on social media yesterday.

“More and more lawyers are coming from South Africa to argue Namibian cases of national interest. Seldom do our lawyers go to South Africa to do the same. Too much money going outside. We need to do better,” he posted.

IPC spokesperson Imms Nashinge told a local radio station the reason for hiring the services of South African lawyers is due to their experience.

“This time, we went for an experienced lawyer who has handled such matters before. They are well respected on the continent and understand the issues at hand,” he said.

Meanwhile, IPC leader Panduleni Itula has called for calm and respect for the rule of law amid the ongoing election court challenge.
He berated individuals who resort to inflammatory language or social media defamation, calling such behaviour irresponsible and detrimental to the dignity of others.

“I would rather lose a court case than have violence in Namibia,” Itula said.

Speaking to Eagle FM on Tuesday, Itula urged citizens to use legal avenues to address grievances and to respect the roles of democratic institutions like the judiciary, the police and the Electoral Commission of Namibia.

“If you have an opinion about an individual in a democratic institution, you need to go to the relevant authorities that adjudicate that. I think as Namibians we respect our leaders, we respect our democratic institutions and we must respect those people in those democratic institutions as well . . . We must maintain decency,” he said.

Itula expressed full confidence in the judiciary and its ability to deliver a fair judgement in the case.

“A lot of people will be looking at this case and will be blaming the judiciary of this country. The judiciary is there to look at our cases and to say, in terms of the administration of justice, this is unacceptable, this should be pulled back, or this should not. So we should not prejudge,” he said.

Reflecting on Namibia’s past struggle for independence, Itula warned against actions or rhetoric that could destabilise the country.

“The moment we take the law into our own hands, chaos will be the only result and chaos is where we came from in the 60s and 70s. We want to avoid that. A lot of people are using extremely inflammatory military terms. That is uncalled for,” he said.

The Electoral Court heard the challenge on the National Assembly election results brought by the IPC and the Landless People’s Movement yesterday.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case challenging November’s presidential election results on 10 February.

Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!

Latest News