Justice, Fairness, Rule of Law

Lawyer Sisa Namandje has come under fire on social media for representing people accused of corruption, lately in the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia court case, because of his position in the Swapo leadership.

In a well-informed society, there should be no debate on whether Namandje is right or wrong to represent accused people whatever the alleged crime might be. The justice system is a key component of our democracy.

Any accused person has the right to legal representation by his or her preferred lawyer.

A conflict of interest may have arisen had Namandje been representing an opposition party in a lawsuit by or against Swapo.

Attacking Namandje for fulfilling the obligations of his work undermines the very rule of law: The democratic principles of the constitutional right to a fair trial, a presumption of innocence, and the paramount principle of fairness that form part of the foundation of independent Namibia.

However, the public may be right to question Namandje’s ethical and moral disposition if his professional preference is at odds with his role as a senior political leader of Swapo.

If Namandje actively chooses to defend high profile corruption accused but turns down requests to defend upstanding citizens or journalists, then he would have an ethical and moral question to answer.

If Namandje were found to have facilitated questionable transactions – such as allowing his law firm’s trust account to be used for moving funds between individuals implicated in corruption – it would be reasonable for the public to scrutinise his conduct.

But society should appreciate the need for anyone to have strong legal representation as part of fair trial. The state should ensure it has strong lawyers and other professionals to convict rather than see cases crumble due to lawyers like Namandje easily poking holes due to technicalities or poor investigations.

Dispensing arbitrary ‘punishment’, as happened at Swapo’s dungeon at Lubango and the atrocities committed by the apartheid regime, are paths we should shun with every fibre of our democratic being.

It is important that Namibia continues to provide an environment underpinned by the rule of law, fairness and justice no matter who the accused are.

NB: This editorial that appears in the print edition was revised to highlight the importance of high ethical and moral standing of legal practitioners.

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