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afrol.com, 14 September - Namibian Minister of Home Affairs, Jerry Ekandjo, now made a public statement apologizing to the judiciary for the threats he had made in a speech in August. At the time he told the media he would withdraw the work permits of some foreign judges he perceived to be "working against the best intentions of the government". The statement in August intimidated the judiciary, produced protests from Namibians and from abroad and embarrassed the government, which generally speaking respects the independence of the judiciary and other basic human rights. Hence, some days ago, Justice Minister and Attorney General, Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, had to assure that it "has not been, it is not and it shall not be its policy or practice to interfere with the independence of the judiciary or orders or judgments of courts of law." Yesterday, the statement of the minister of Home Affairs, containing his apology, was made public. It was made on a meeting on September 5, between the two involved ministers, Chief Justice (Justice Strydom) and the Judge President (Judge Teek). Ekandjo, the Minister of Home Affairs informed the judges on how he came to make the August statement. He said he was misled by the information he received regarding the meaning and implication of the High Court interim order. He therefore wanted to meet the judges in order to; a) apologise to the judiciary on the statement he made regarding so called “foreign judges” in Namibia being “reactionary”; b) assure the judges in particular and public in general that he upholds the Namibian Constitution as the supreme law of the land; c) reaffirm as one of the authors of that Constitution, his commitment to all that the Constitution provides and stands for; d) ensure the judges that their decisions, orders, judgements shall be enforced in accordance with the law and by and through the machinery provided by that law; and e) inform the judiciary that he has no personal feels against Judge Silungwe who made the order in the Ngoma Case. It is therefore necessary to state that an amicable solution has been found to the issues raised by the Honourable Minister Ekandjo. After Honourable Ekandjo apologised to the judges, the misunderstanding has been cleared and the issue has been put to rest once and for all. - No one should any more hide behind what the minister said, Justice Minister and Attorney General, Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, added. "If any one makes him or her guilty of contempt of court, her or she should face the charges." Although the Ministry of Justice informs that the 5 September meeting "was convened at the request of the Honourable Minister of Home Affairs to clarify his statement," there is no doubt that substantial pressure has been put on minister Ekandjo in the matter. As his embarrassing statement also has gotten international attention, it is assessed that Ekandjo's political career has received a major blow. On the other hand, Ekandjo commands respect for being a minister having the guts to publicly admit he had made a blunder, and even apologise for it. There sure are many ministers around which done well trying this exercise.
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