OMUTHIYA - The chairperson of the Namibia Magistrates Commission, Judge Orben Sibeya said plans are underway to establish a periodic court at Omuthiya in the Oshikoto region.

This will ease the number of cases dealt with by the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court.

Sibeya, during his visit to the Oshikoto Regional Council in Omuthiya on Monday, said an assessment found that Ondangwa has the heaviest case load in the country with over 4 000 cases, while 60% of those cases are from the Omuthiya area.

“Ondangwa is struggling to cope with this volume of cases. Cases are just too many and they are being postponed for more than two years. Witnesses wait for up to two years to testify, which causes them to forget sometimes. We also discovered that there are travel costs involved when they travel to Ondangwa whereas if we bring a court here, we will cut out those travel expenses,” said Sibeya.

The chairperson said the biggest challenge currently is finding a venue for the court to operate from. One possibility is for the court to operate from the regional police headquarters.

Once established, a magistrate will be assigned to serve in Omuthiya, either Monday to Friday or for two weeks a month, until a permanent structure is developed in the area.

Sibeya further said that they would meet with the Namibian Police’s Oshikoto regional commander Teopoline Nashikaku and her staff and proceed from there.

Oshikoto Regional Council acting chairperson Martinu Kainda said they look forward to such services being made more accessible.

“From the Oshikoto region, particularly Omuthiya, there is a big go ahead. Just go ahead and implement, we want justice services to be closer to our people in Omuthiya,” said Kainda. -Nampa