Windhoek – Zimbabwean judges Rita Makarau and Moses Chinhengo have been appointed to serve in the Namibian Supreme Court and High Court, respectively.
The appointments of the two senior jurists were announced Wednesday by the Namibian Judicial Service Commission (JSC), and include those of non-Zimbabwe judges.
“Lady Rita Makarau has been appointed as an acting Judge of the Supreme Court from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024,” read the statement by the Namibian JSC.
Makarau is a Zimbabwe Supreme Court judge and former Judge-President of the High Court.
She is also former chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
Chinhengo is also a retired justice of the High Court of Botswana and Zimbabwe, currently serving as an acting Justice for Court of Appeal in Lesotho.
“Mr Justice Moses H. Chinhengo has been appointed as an acting Judge of the High Court for the period 18 September 2023 to 31 December 2023,” said JSC.
In 2021, he served as an acting judge of Namibia’s Supreme Court.
Added the JSC, “The Judicial Services Commission congratulates the acting judges on their appointments and wishes them well in the execution of their onerous tasks.”
Justices Makarau and Chinhengo are however not the first Zimbabwean judges to serve in the Namibian bench.
Late Justice Simpson Mutambanengwe, also a former Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chair, also served on the Supreme Court of Namibia, both as acting Chief Justice of Namibia and after his retirement several times as Acting Judge of Appeal.
