Makando’s past haunts ambition of becoming a judge

As lawyer Slysken Makando seeks to be appointed as a High Court judge, a prior clash with the Law Society of Namibia (LSN) has come to the fore once again.

Makando assured the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Friday that an issue from 2004, which nearly led to his suspension from practising law, has been resolved and would not affect his candidacy for appointment as a High Court judge.

The LSN, which once sought to have Makando removed from the roll of legal practitioners in Namibia, has now nominated him to be appointed as a High Court judge. “As we speak now, between us and the Law Society, there is no issue. In fact, they nominated me, and that shows there are no lingering issues between us,” Makondo told the JSC.

Makando explained that the issue stemmed from a 2004 complaint against him by a dissatisfied member of the public.

Although the complaint was withdrawn that year, the LSN initiated a disciplinary hearing against him, leading to litigation in the High Court and also the Supreme Court after the disciplinary committee for legal practitioners in April 2008 found him guilty on 14 charges of unprofessional, dishonourable or unworthy conduct in connection with the alleged misappropriation of trust monies.

The matter was ultimately dismissed in court on technical grounds, and the issue was referred back to the disciplinary committee.

Although Makando admitted guilt to some charges concerning the mishandling of trust funds, he did not admit to misappropriation. The events about which he was charged and found guilty took place while Makando ran his own legal practice at Oshakati. “There has been no complaint against me from the public ever since,” he said. Calls and WhatsApp messages to LSN director Neliswa Tjahikika went unanswered at the time of going to print.

PUBLIC INTERVIEWS

The JSC held its first public interviews to select a High Court judge on Friday. Among the candidates interviewed were Philanda Christiaan, who is Namibia’s chief magistrate and is currently serving as an acting judge in the High Court, alongside legal professionals Beatrix de Jager from the Society of Advocates of Namibia and Makando.

This comes amid demands for transparency in the judiciary, prompted by calls from the public, politicians and legal experts focusing on judge appointment procedures. The JSC in September decided to modify its regulations, allowing aspiring judges to be publicly interviewed. Chief justice Peter Shivute recently published these alterations in the Government Gazette.

The regulations previously stipulated private interviews for High Court and Supreme Court judge candidates. However, the revised regulations now mandate that these interviews occur in public when the JSC decides to conduct them.

The amendment comes after criticism regarding the lack of transparency in the JSC’s evaluation of judge recommendations for presidential appointments.

Although the regulations do not require interviews for judge candidates, they allow the JSC to conduct oral interviews “if deemed necessary”.

According to the Namibian Constitution, the president appoints judges, the prosecutor general and the ombudsman based on JSC recommendations.

The commission comprises five members: the chief justice, the deputy chief justice, the attorney general and two lawyers nominated by legal practitioner bodies in Namibia.