WHEN DEMOCRACY GETS A BAD REVIEW (THE SUPREME COURT’S ‘MASTERPIECE’ ON NAMIBIA'S 2024 ELECTION)

Oh, Namibia. Where democracy is a cherished concept – one that, apparently, is only as strong as the paper it’s printed on. So, if you’ve been following the political drama surrounding the 2024 presidential election, you might’ve caught wind of the dramatic case brought by Dr. Panduleni Itula, the official elected opposition party IPC’s hero (or villain, depending on who you ask). His bold attempt to seek justice and protect Namibia’s democracy was, of course, overshadowed by a final judgment from the Supreme Court that felt more like a bad reality show finale than a genuine pursuit of justice. But hey, what else could we expect?

Let’s talk about it: Dr. Itula’s case was simple enough. The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), to put it kindly, dropped the ball in carrying out its most important duty — conducting free and fair elections. Their performance last year was so spectacularly bad, one might suspect they thought they were running an obstacle course rather than overseeing a national election. But, of course, nothing much came out of it. The court just dismissed the whole thing like it was a bad joke. But, surprise, surprise – here’s the twist: who appointed the judges again?

That’s right – the top officials in ECN, those champions of electoral competence, were appointed by the president. And who might that be? Oh, just the leader of SWAPO. And the judges in the highest court? Same story. Appointed by none other than… you guessed it, the same SWAPO. Now, I’m no political analyst, but when nearly every key institution is stacked with people loyal to one party, is it really shocking that the system isn’t exactly bending over backward to ensure fairness? It’s almost like there’s a direct link between political influence and the impartiality of justice. Imagine that!

But wait, it gets better. Where, you ask, is the Office of the Ombudsman in all of this? The so-called public protector that’s supposed to be keeping things fair and square? Not a peep. Zip. Nada. It's as if they were too busy trying to figure out how to protect the public from, well, the public. So, really, if you were hoping for any sort of accountability in this circus, it seems you’ll have to keep holding your breath – which, as we all know, isn’t great for your health.

So, here we are, watching the wheels of democracy grind to a halt, with a final judgment that makes one thing clear: Elections can only be “leaked” between a political party and the ECN. If you’re lucky enough to be in the president’s inner circle, democracy is a breeze. But if you’re just trying to hold the system accountable, well, good luck. We’ll all be right here waiting for the next election season, where we can continue pretending that democracy still stands.

At the end of the day, it’s hard to take any of this seriously when the system is so hopelessly rigged. And if you’re wondering why things seem so hopeless, maybe it’s because they are.

Location: Windhoek, Namibia

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