Prosecutors, magistrates transferred to duty stations
Prosecutor general Martha Imalwa says the transfer of three prosecutors from the Ondangwa Magistrate Court is intended to help them recover from the trauma of colleague Justine Shiweda’s murder.
The transfer by the court also includes two magistrates.
“If you go to another environment, it might assist you to heal,” Imalwa tells The Namibian when asked what informed the decision of the Office of the Judiciary.
She says the two magistrates, whose new work location cannot be disclosed, have been traumatised after control prosecutor Shiweda was murdered due to her job.
The magistrates say they need a different environment to cope and heal following the tragedy.
Imalwa says Shiweda’s remaining colleagues might still have nightmares about the incident.
“That image, the moment you enter the building (office), it is in you,” Imalwa says.
Shiweda was attacked with corrosive acid and shot while she was about to leave her home at Ondangwa on 17 October last year.
She later died from her injuries in February.
“You know what happened. It (the transfer) is just a way of assisting people to deal with stress.
If you lose your colleague and you were working together at the same workstation, where you sit in one office, what will that cause you?” Imalwa asks.
She says the decision was not linked to misconduct by the affected officials, but aimed at giving them an opportunity to recover emotionally.
“It is actually a way of counselling our people to deal with the trauma of what happened.
It is not that they are misbehaving or whatever, but it is a way of assisting my prosecutors to heal and face the reality and continue to deliver service to the Namibian nation,” she says.
Imalwa says staying in the environment where Shiweda worked could continue to trigger painful memories for her colleagues.
The transfers, which took place last month, affected magistrates Kaevarua Njembo and Nelao ya France, as well as prosecutors Wisdom Ndakondja, Yeukai Kangira and Naledi Hoeses.
Ndakondja and Kangira were transferred to other stations, while Hoeses was moved to another department.
Another prosecutor who was previously attached to the court, Charly Iiyambo, has also left the station, while prosecutor Tony Bock has allegedly resigned from the prosecution following Shiweda’s killing.
He is now a magistrate.
‘A WAY TO HEAL’
One of the transferred officials says the transfers were, among other considerations, intended to give officials who had been closely exposed to Shiweda’s killing and its aftermath some distance from the case and the environment in which it unfolded.
The attack and subsequent murder case have had a profound emotional impact on some of Shiweda’s colleagues, particularly those who attended the scene.
“We attended the scene where Justine was attacked, saw her in hospital on the day of the shooting and subsequently frequently thereafter until her death,” the source says.
The source says the emotional strain continued after the arrests, as court officials were required to deal professionally with the accused during court proceedings.
“Then the accused are arrested, and you have to keep seeing them at court.
Seeing family members crying and hurt. It is no longer just a case. It’s your colleague’s murder case. It’s no longer just work,” the source says.
According to the source, magistrates and prosecutors dealt with the matter at various stages, including first appearances and postponements, while also coping with the loss of their colleague.
“Can you imagine how that will mess you up?” the source asks.
The police have alleged that a criminal gang carried out Shiweda’s killing and that former police officer Abner Mateus was involved in directing the alleged operation.
Mateus, who denied responsibility for the attack in the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court in June, and his other accused remain in custody.
Office of the Judiciary spokesperson Vikitoria Hango did not respond to questions sent to her yesterday.
In their tribute during Shiweda’s funeral, the prosecutors described her as their friend, sister and colleague who was selfless.
