Karuaihe Trust turns 10

THE JP Karuaihe Trust Fund is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with a gala fundraising dinner on July 23. The trust has over the past years assisted 33 students with their law studies.

Thirteen of those students have completed their studies and are lawyers, corporate legal advisors and prosecutors who work for law firms and Government. The other students are still at universities studying for their second degrees.The JP Karuaihe Trust Fund gives scholarships based on need and on availability of funds. The funds come mainly from businesses, organisations, law firms and individuals. The Trust Fund is managed by a board of trustees consisting of lawyers, chief executive officers, accountants, general managers and business executives. It is run by volunteers, thus ensuring that the money received goes directly to the beneficiaries.The Trust Fund together with the Law Society of Namibia will hold its annual JP Karuaihe Excellence Award an July 23. The award recognises the best-performing students and law firms that promote social responsibility and human rights.The trust was founded after the death of Judge Johannes Paulus Fonnie Karuaihe in a car accident in 1998. He was the fist black Namibian lawyer to open a legal practice, Karuaihe and Associates. He was also the fist black lawyer who was elected to the Council of the Law Society of Namibia and also the fist attorney to appear in the High Court, following the passing of the Legal Practitioners Act in 1995. He also became the youngest Judge and the fist attorney to be appointed as a permanent High Court Judge by former President Sam Nujoma.