President Hage Geingob has appointed incumbent Ombudsman John Walters to act in the position for two months from 01 August to 30 September 2021 as per the recommendation of the Judiciary Service Commission (JSC).

A media statement issued on Tuesday by JSC Public Relations Officer, Selma Mwaetako, said this is due to the delay in the recruitment process of a new Ombudsman.

Walters has been Ombudsman since 01 July 2004 and his initial contract will come to end on 30 July 2021.

The position was advertised by the JSC earlier this year, and interviews for the new Ombudsman were supposed to take place on 23 July 2021.

However, one of the shortlisted candidates fell ill resulting in the interviews being cancelled to allow the candidate enough time to recover. A new date for the rescheduled interview is not yet confirmed.

Mwaetako said the JSC will now proceed with the finalisation of the recruitment process of the new Ombudsman who is expected to assume office on 01 October 2021.

Source: Namibia Press Agency