It’s time to move on: President Pohamba

PRESIDENT Hifikepunye Pohamba has called on Namibians to stop blam i n g all e vils o n colonialism and to start finding answers for some of the country’s problems.

T he Pre siden t al s o said Government w o uld ensu re th a t the judiciary remaine d independen t de s pite calls from so m e s ec – tor s , incl ud ing from with in the ruli ng party, th at Government should tigh ten its g rip on the judic iary. Pohamba’s statement, given at a meeting yesterday of prosecutors at Waterberg, represents a significant change in tone to views expressed by promi nent ruling party leaders in the past.T he Presid ent s a id not all social evils being experienced in the country today had to do with colonialism and that a culture of brutality had taken root.”We need to take stock as a nation and find answers to some of these problems,” he said.Although the judiciary remains ind ep en dent, s o me group s i n the ruling party, like the Youth League, have always put pressure on Gov er nment to rein in the judicial system.Judicial independence means that judges and magistrates can decide cases before them without fear or favour, based on the law and the facts of a particular case.High-ranking Government officials and ruling party officials have directed several verbal attacks at what they term “white” and “foreign” judges.In 2003, the Namibian Parliament enacted new legislation to give effect to orders transferring unpopular judicial officers.”I wish to state in no uncertain terms that the judiciary is independent.Indeed, our Government will do everything possible to ensure that such independence is complete and assured,” Pohamba said.He said he sympathised with the public perception that the criminal justice system favoured the rights of the accused more than those of the victims.”As a result, there are calls from some members of our society to amend the Namibian Constitution to reintroduce the death penalty.I admit that calls to reintroduce the death penalty are partly caused by our nation’s frustrations,” he said.However, he said the Government would work within the framework of the Constitution.The President also hit out at court officials who pocketed bribes and helped criminals to go free.”This is totally unacceptable.The Namibian people waged the struggle for national independence so that equal justice can apply to all Namibians.In an independent Namibia, we will not tolerate two types of justice, one for those who can afford to bribe a court official to destroy a docket and the other one for those who cannot afford to pay,” he said.He said Government remained committed to rooting out corruption and would not rest until that objective had been achieved.”I therefore, warn those who harbour the intention of destroying dockets upon payment that our criminal justice system will deal with them without mercy,” he said.Pohamba called on the judicial officials to strive for a swift, fair and effective criminal system with a sentencing policy that effectively deterred crime.Pohamba’s statement, given at a meeting yesterday of prosecutors at Waterberg, represents a significant change in tone to views expressed by promi nent ruling party leaders in the past.T he Presid ent s a id not all social evils being experienced in the country today had to do with colonialism and that a culture of brutality had taken root.”We need to take stock as a nation and find answers to some of these problems,” he said.Although the judiciary remains ind ep en dent, s o me group s i n the ruling party, like the Youth League, have always put pressure on Gov er nment to rein in the judicial system.Judicial independence means that judges and magistrates can decide cases before them without fear or favour, based on the law and the facts of a particular case.High-ranking Government officials and ruling party officials have directed several verbal attacks at what they term “white” and “foreign” judges.In 2003, the Namibian Parliament enacted new legislation to give effect to orders transferring unpopular judicial officers.”I wish to state in no uncertain terms that the judiciary is independent.Indeed, our Government will do everything possible to ensure that such independence is complete and assured,” Pohamba said.He said he sympathised with the public perception that the criminal justice system favoured the rights of the accused more than those of the victims.”As a result, there are calls from some members of our society to amend the Namibian Constitution to reintroduce the death penalty.I admit that calls to reintroduce the death penalty are partly caused by our nation’s frustrations,” he said.However, he said the Government would work within the framework of the Constitution.The President also hit out at court officials who pocketed bribes and helped criminals to go free.”This is totally unacceptable.The Namibian people waged the struggle for national independence so that equal justice can apply to all Namibians.In an independent Namibia, we will not tolerate two types of justice, one for those who can afford to bribe a court official to destroy a docket and the other one for those who cannot afford to pay,” he said.He said Government remained committed to rooting out corruption and would not rest until that objective had been achieved.”I therefore, warn those who harbour the intention of destroying dockets upon payment that our criminal justice system will deal with them without mercy,” he said.Pohamba called on the judicial officials to strive for a swift, fair and effective criminal system with a sentencing policy that effectively deterred crime.