Renthia Kaimbi
Justice and Labour Relations Minister Fillemon Wise Immanuel has declared the ongoing strike by magistrates illegal.
He ordered them to return to work immediately.
In a letter dated 9 November 2025 to Magistrates’ Commission chairperson Boas Uusiku, Immanuel acknowledged the magistrates’ frustration over delayed housing and vehicle allowances but stated that there was no legal basis for the nationwide strike.
Immanuel instructed the commission to provide a legal justification for the industrial action, warning that the strike would be considered unlawful without valid grounds.
“As minister of justice and labour relations, I could not find a legal basis for the ongoing countrywide strike by magistrates,” he said.
Immanuel characterised the action as disobedience, absence from duty, and behaviour that undermined the integrity of the judiciary.
He directed all magistrates to return to their duty stations and resume work today, warning that failure to do so would result in serious consequences.
“Sometimes individual judicial officers turn to have a propensity of mistaking administrative oversight for judicial independence as freedom to escape accountability. This must not be the case, for matters such as reporting for duty or explaining one’s absence are questions of governance (administrative) and not questions of adjudication (judicial independence),” Immanuel added.
The strike, led by the Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association of Namibia (MJAN), follows years of disputes over unfulfilled promises regarding conditions of service and benefits.
Magistrates have demanded the implementation of housing and vehicle allowances approved by the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises in October 2023.
The benefits were meant to take effect in the 2025/26 financial year but remain unpaid.
Advocate Florian Beukes, representing MJAN, said the strike was a last resort after repeated efforts to engage authorities failed.
According to MJAN, a proposal submitted by the executive director of the office of the judiciary, Benhardt Kukuri, on 6 August 2025 aligned with the 2023 approval.
However, the justice ministry’s later schedule allegedly created inequities across magistrate grades, violating the agreed adjustments.
Magistrates had warned as early as October that they would seek a court interdict if the ministry gazetted the disputed 2025/26 allowance structures without implementing the verified proposal.
They had written a letter to the judiciary’s office, but last week, Immanuel said he had not yet reviewed the magistrates’ letter, as he was out of the country.
The partial strike has disrupted court operations nationwide, halting civil trials, opposed motions, criminal proceedings, and bail applications in both magistrates’ and regional courts.
A source close to the magistracy told the Windhoek Observer that magistrates would only resume work once the agreement was formalised and gazetted.
“There will be no return until the promises are put in writing,” the source said, reflecting growing defiance despite the minister’s directive.
Last week, South Africa’s lower court judges expressed solidarity with their Namibian counterparts on strike.Â
At the same time, the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement publicly backed the strike, urging the government to address magistrates’ concerns without delay.
