Justices Shivute, Damaseb to head judiciary

HIGH Court Judge President Peter Shivute will be Namibia’s fourth post-Independence Chief Justice from the beginning of December.

The Judge President’s appointment as Chief Justice was announced from the Chambers of the Chief Justice at the Supreme Court yesterday. The appointment of High Court Judge Petrus Damaseb as Shivute’s successor as Judge President was announced at the same time, as was the extension of the term of Acting Chief Justice Simpson Mtambanengwe for the month of November.The appointments were made by President Sam Nujoma on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission.At the age of 41, Justice Shivute will be Namibia’s youngest Chief Justice since Independence.With Justice Damaseb, now aged 42, succeeding him as the leading Judge at the High Court, the two top posts in Namibia’s judiciary are now to be occupied by two relatively young, but already widely respected men, who might serve in the judiciary for more than 20 years before they reach the Judges’ retirement age of 65.That fact may see Namibia now entering what could turn out to be a two-decade period of judicial stability and continuity in the top ranks of the country’s two highest courts.Judge President Shivute and Judge Damaseb both indicated to The Namibian yesterday that they viewed the new posts they would be filling in a month’s time as challenges awaiting them.While the appointment of both had been widely expected from within the legal profession, the appointments mark another step up in a rapid ascent through the ranks of Namibia’s judiciary for both Judges.Judge President Shivute has headed the judiciary in the High Court since June last year, when he was appointed as Judge President.That promotion up the ranks in the High Court came only two years and three months after he had first been first appointed as a Judge in a permanent capacity with effect from March 1, 2001.Judge Damaseb has seen an even more meteoric rise through the ranks.He was appointed in a permanent capacity as a High Court Judge only in mid-July this year, having been an Acting Judge from February this year and also for a three-month stint last year.The Judicial Service Commission was unanimous in its recommendation of Judge Damaseb to be appointed as Judge President, with the legal profession having supported his promotion to that post, The Namibian learned yesterday.Both he and Judge President Shivute hold degrees in law from Warwick University in the United Kingdom.Justice Shivute also studied law at Cambridge University in England.While Judge President Shivute had worked as a Magistrate in Namibia since 1991, Justice Damaseb entered the legal profession in Namibia only in 1995.Up to then, he had been a top civil servant, having served as Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Cabinet Secretary and Secretary to the President – positions which not only gave him political clout, as evidenced by the high-profile role that he played as overseer of the election of a Swapo presidential candidate in May this year, but which may also give him the necessary clout to slap down attempts at political interference in the judiciary if and when these occur.The appointment of High Court Judge Petrus Damaseb as Shivute’s successor as Judge President was announced at the same time, as was the extension of the term of Acting Chief Justice Simpson Mtambanengwe for the month of November.The appointments were made by President Sam Nujoma on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission.At the age of 41, Justice Shivute will be Namibia’s youngest Chief Justice since Independence.With Justice Damaseb, now aged 42, succeeding him as the leading Judge at the High Court, the two top posts in Namibia’s judiciary are now to be occupied by two relatively young, but already widely respected men, who might serve in the judiciary for more than 20 years before they reach the Judges’ retirement age of 65.That fact may see Namibia now entering what could turn out to be a two-decade period of judicial stability and continuity in the top ranks of the country’s two highest courts.Judge President Shivute and Judge Damaseb both indicated to The Namibian yesterday that they viewed the new posts they would be filling in a month’s time as challenges awaiting them.While the appointment of both had been widely expected from within the legal profession, the appointments mark another step up in a rapid ascent through the ranks of Namibia’s judiciary for both Judges.Judge President Shivute has headed the judiciary in the High Court since June last year, when he was appointed as Judge President.That promotion up the ranks in the High Court came only two years and three months after he had first been first appointed as a Judge in a permanent capacity with effect from March 1, 2001.Judge Damaseb has seen an even more meteoric rise through the ranks.He was appointed in a permanent capacity as a High Court Judge only in mid-July this year, having been an Acting Judge from February this year and also for a three-month stint last year.The Judicial Service Commission was unanimous in its recommendation of Judge Damaseb to be appointed as Judge President, with the legal profession having supported his promotion to that post, The Namibian learned yesterday.Both he and Judge President Shivute hold degrees in law from Warwick University in the United Kingdom.Justice Shivute also studied law at Cambridge University in England.While Judge President Shivute had worked as a Magistrate in Namibia since 1991, Justice Damaseb entered the legal profession in Namibia only in 1995.Up to then, he had been a top civil servant, having served as Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Cabinet Secretary and Secretary to the President – positions which not only gave him political clout, as evidenced by the high-profile role that he played as overseer of the election of a Swapo presidential candidate in May this year, but which may also give him the necessary clout to slap down attempts at political interference in the judiciary if and when these occur.