President Nangolo Mbumba is pleased with the collaboration between the judiciaries of Namibia and Zimbabwe.

He says such collaboration anchors firm foundations in the dispensation of justice to the citizens of both countries.

"When we relay to one another, I want us to enjoy those moments because most of the time, we are just pressed with time; there is no time to talk to one another, and it is just to say that we live in the neighbourhood, which is an envy to many other regions. In the 1970s and 1980s, we were the area of problems, the area of struggle, and the area of unpredictable mornings and evenings. Now we must enjoy this and strengthen the institutions that remain. This is a happy occasion. It is not only the presidents who meet; it is not only the foreign ministers. It is all our institutions because we have to work together, serve our people, and understand one another."

The visit from the delegation from the Office of the Judiciary of Zimbabwe to Namibia is for the two to share best practices and exchange views on ways to advance the administration of justice.

While the overall objective is to cement existing ties, this exercise, they say, would help build solid institutions to benefit future generations in the legal fraternity.

"So for the past two days, we have been holding talks, and he also came with a very strong delegation, consisting of senior officials who will be engaging our senior officials here to try to see how we can better the administration of our two judiciaries," said Chief Justice Peter Shivute. 

The cooperation in the affairs of justice has seen judges from Zimbabwe appointed to serve on Namibia's top courts, the most recent being Justices Rita Makarau and Moses Chinhengo.

"We have a very cordial relationship between judiciaries and between the two justices, but we consider that this is not enough because we may be gone tomorrow and those who succeed us must have some reference points from which they can work, and it is in that respect that we should now formalise our relationship by identifying specific areas," added Zimbabwe's Chief Justice Luke Malaba.

The two Chief Justices paid a courtesy visit to State House shortly before the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding at the Supreme Court.

The MoU outlines the scope of areas of cooperation, including training and capacity-building programmes for judges, court officials, and legal professionals. 

The Chief Justices promised solid monitoring of the implementation of the MoU.