THREE candidates – including current prosecutor general Martha Imalwa – have been shortlisted for appointment as the next head of public prosecutions in Namibia, the Office of the Judiciary announced on Tuesday.
Judiciary spokesperson Ockert Jansen said in a statement that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) received eight applications for appointment as prosecutor general (PG), but with five of the applicants not meeting some of the requirements set out in the commission’s advertisement of the position, three candidates have been shortlisted.
The shortlisted candidates are Imalwa, former deputy prosecutor general Taswald July, who is currently the group legal adviser at First National Bank of Namibia and chairperson of the Namibia Law Association, and former magistrate and public prosecutor Ruth Herunga.
Jansen said the JSC has decided not to have public interviews of candidates for the PG position “at this time”, having set up a committee that is still to have consultations on reviewing the process through which the PG is selected.
The JSC placed advertisements calling for applications from candidates for the PG position in late September.
The requirements set for the post initially included 15 years of experience as an admitted legal practitioner, but this was later changed to 10 years’ experience when the post was again advertised in October.
Imalwa was first appointed as PG for a 10-year term with effect from the start of 2004.
In October 2013, her term was renewed for a seven-year period until the end of this year.
She is due to reach the age of 60 in December.
The Namibian Constitution stipulates that the PG is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission.
