Office extract for citation on panduleniitula.com (draft). Ligature and line-break cleanup only. Media-inquiry footers and party profile copy from the PDF are not reprinted. Some office PDFs print Independence Patriots or Leader of the Official Opposition; this site keeps Independent Patriots for Change and does not treat the opposition-leader heading as a finding. This extract is the office wording, not a finding of this site.

Filename as supplied: PRESS STATEMENT_PRESIDENT 3.pdf
07 MAY 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STATEMENT BY THE LEADER OF THE OFFICIAL OPPOSITION ON THE SUSPENSION OF
THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF THE NAMIBIAN POLICE FORCE

1. Windhoek, 7 May 2026 - The Presidency on 5 May 2026 announced the
suspension of Lt. Gen. Joseph Shikongo as Inspector-General of the
Namibian Police Force and the appointment of Maj. Gen. Anne-Marie
Nainda as Acting Inspector-General for a period of one year. The
Presidency cited Article 32(4)(c)(bb) of the Constitution as the authority for
the appointment.

2. The Independent Patriots for Change does not, at this stage, take a position
on whether the Inspector-General should remain in office. That is a matter
for the procedure laid down by the Constitution and by the Security
Commission Act 18 of 2001. What concerns the Official Opposition is
whether that procedure has been followed.

3. The Constitution and the Security Commission Act require, in respect of the
suspension of an Inspector-General of Police, that:

a. the President consult the Security Commission,
b. that the Commission issue a recommendation,
c. that the affected officer be given written notice of the grounds
and an opportunity to make oral or written representations,
d. that the affected member recuse himself from the proceedings,

e. that the terms of any suspension be set on the advice of the Public
Service Commission, and that proper records of the proceedings
be kept.

4. Article 18 of the Constitution further requires that administrative action be
fair and reasonable and comply with common law and relevant
legislation.

5. In the public interest, the Official Opposition today calls on the Executive
to place on the public record the documents that demonstrate
compliance
with
these
requirements:
the
Security
Commission’s
recommendation, the minutes and attendance record of the relevant
meeting, the written notice of grounds, the representations considered, the
recusal record, and the advice of the Public Service Commission on the
terms of the suspension.

6. The IPC as a party that believes and adheres to the principle of rule of law
and public accountability, for actions of administrative bodies and
officials, we are convinced that the sovereign has a right to know when
those entrusted on their behalf are severed from that responsibility.

7. The principle of accountability demands transparency, there is a need for
our administrative democratic institutions to comply strictly with the
principles of constitutionalism.

ISSUED BY:
PANDULENI ITULA (DR.)
PRESIDENT – INDEPENDENCE PATRIOTS FOR CHANGE (IPC)

Namibia is all we have
Namibia is not for sale
We must and can save it!

— END—