10/02/2026
TARGETED VIOLENCE | NAMIBIAN CASES
Festus Shilunga was a retired teacher, aged 66. In his village, he was found dead with serious injuries, and it is believed that he was murdered. During the process, many key witnesses died, the inquest docket disappeared and was later found during reconstruction. No one has been arrested or prosecuted so far, and the responsible institutions have been working on the case for 17 years (since 2009). Remember: Justice delayed is justice denied.
Prosecutor Justine Shiweda was in October 2025, violently attacked at her home. A few days ago (February 2026), she died later. The assault and its aftermath prompted national alarm about the safety of justice officials and the broader implications for the rule of law.
Headman in Oshikoto Region, Sem Nepando, was in January 2026 shot dead during a community court session in a land-related dispute, illustrating how traditional authority, land conflict and deadly violence can intersect in local governance spaces.
Mueller & Hellwig who worked at the Namibia Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT, Arandis) were shot dead on campus in April 2019. The attack shocked the nation; a former employee was arrested, tried and later convicted, highlighting how workplace grievances can explode into lethal violence and exposing gaps in institutional security.
Labor and human‑rights advocate, August Maletzky, survived shots fired at his vehicle outside his Windhoek home in 2017. The attack left him shaken and underscored the vulnerability of activists who challenge powerful interests.
Lawyer and trade-unionist and SWAPO activist, Anton Lubowski (1952–1989), was gunned down outside his Windhoek home in September 1989. His assassination during Namibia's transition to independence remains a national wound: investigators linked the killing to covert apartheid-era operatives, but full accountability was never achieved.
These cases matter not just for justice, but to uphold the law, protect those who speak out, and help heal the affected.