Namibia: Windhoek High Court Provisionally Withdraws Zambezi Corruption Case

What the report says

The Windhoek High Court in Namibia has provisionally withdrawn a corruption case against six employees of the Zambezi Regional Council, saying the State does not currently have enough evidence to continue with the charges, according to New Era via Nampa. The case was heard before Deputy Judge President Johanna Prinsloo in Windhoek, while the accused are based in the Zambezi region near Katima Mulilo.

Those named in the matter are Chief Regional Officer Regina Ndopu-Lubinda, Regional Director for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Beaven Walubita, his deputy Cletius Mubita, Deputy Director for Administration Abraham Shikoyeni, Chief Development Planner Daniel Mbala and Chief Accountant Nimrod Lichela. They had faced multiple counts under Namibia’s Anti-Corruption Act, 2003, including allegations that they used their positions for self-gratification and conspired in relation to more than N$4 million tied to capital projects in Kongola Constituency.

The report says the case was moved from the Katima Mulilo Regional Court to the Oshakati High Court in October 2025 before being transferred again to Windhoek. It had also been provisionally withdrawn in 2024, when the accused were granted bail of N$50,000 each, later refunded after that earlier withdrawal. The six could be called back to court if investigators later obtain new evidence. The development matters because it temporarily pauses one of the region’s more prominent public-sector corruption cases, while leaving the possibility of renewed prosecution open.