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The Ombudsman is an independent and impartial public office bearer who raises all people’s concerns with government institutions, bodies, and civil servants as well as any company or private individuals in Namibia, when it relates to violation of human rights and protection of the environment in Namibia.
In terms of Articles 91 and 92 of the Namibian Constitution, read together with the provisions of the Ombudsman’s Act, Act No. 7 of 1990, the Ombudsman’s mandate can be summarised as follows: to promote fairness, accountability and transparency in the public sector by resolving and investigating public complaints and systemic issues within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, being human rights violations, maladministration (within the public sector) and protection of the environment.
The work of the Ombudsman is collaborative and corrective in nature.
Complaint Procedure
- Visit any of our offices
- Call any of our regional offices or send an email to: office@ombudmsan.org.na
- Submit a complaint via our website: Complaint form
- Send us a private message on Facebook and we will contact you
- Send an SMS to 20401, SMS is charged at 40 cents an SMS
- Once a complaint is received it is registered and studied in order to establish if it falls within our mandates.
- If the complaint falls within our mandate and has merit, we will proceed with the requisite inquiries or investigation process.
- Complainants will receive acknowledgement of their written complaints within 48 hours.
- We will provide complainants with regular updates on the progress of their complaints.
- We request that complainants respond to our requests for further information/enquiries within 28 days.
- If we do not receive any response from the complainant within 28 days, we will close our file on the matter.
- Upon completion of the investigation, complainants will receive a closing letter detailing the outcome of the investigation.
- Should a complaint be resolved while we are in the process of investigations, we request that the complainant inform us as soon as possible.
- Try to solve the problem with the institution, Offices, Agencies or Ministries that you are complaining against. If there is no response or if you are unsatisfied with the response, then you can approach us.
- Tell us what happened to make you unhappy.
- Tell us why you think it is unfair.
- Tell us what you would like to happen.
- Make the complaint as soon as possible.
We cannot necessarily guarantee that you will get the outcome you want, but we can guarantee you that your complaint will be investigated fairly and thoroughly.
"no member of the Cabinet or the legislature or any person shall interfere with the Ombudsman in the exercise of his or her functions and all organs of the State shall accord such assistance as may be needed for the protection of the independence, dignity and effectiveness of the Ombudsman".
Article 89
Our Independence
How We Work
Findings and Reports
What we cannot do
Our Independence
Article 89 (2) of the Namibian Constitution provide that Ombudsman shall be independent and subject to the Constitution and the law. In this regard, the Ombudsman acts impartially in the public interest, and will report directly to the National Assembly. We cannot be directed by any ministers, Government officials, the people who complain to us, the agencies and or officials whom we oversight and investigate.
How We Work
We encourage people to first seek solutions from the institutions they are complaining against, before they approach our office.
We take complaints via the complaint form on our website, by email, phone calls, letters, or in person. Our staff will contact you for more details to pursue your complaint. We will not divulge your name or information to anyone without your consent, and there is no charge for our services. We also handle inquiries; our staff can answer general questions, provide advice and guidance or refer you to the appropriate institution.
Referrals
If your complaint is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, we will refer you to the right office or institution accordingly. If you haven’t tried or followed the existing complaint mechanisms of the organisation or institution, we’ll suggest you do that first and return to us if the issue isn’t resolved.Complaint Intake
We always seek to resolve complaints at the lowest level possible. To do so, we often make informal inquiries and requests for information with the relevant bodies, for example, to learn more about their processes and policies.Investigation
If we are unable to resolve the matter informally, the Ombudsman may decide to conduct an investigation. We notify the organisation in question, and we may conduct interviews and request documents or other relevant evidence. If the Ombudsman determines that there is a potential systemic issue underlying the complaints, he may decide to launch a systemic investigation.Results
We communicate the outcome of individual investigations and most reviews and informal resolutions to complainants and the relevant public sector bodies, as warranted. Summaries of many such cases are published in our Annual Reports and other communications. When the Ombudsman’s recommendations are accepted, our staff follows up to ensure they are implemented, and we monitor to ensure problems don’t recur.Findings and Reports
The Ombudsman provides his findings to the organisation in question for a response before it is finalised. Findings and recommendations are published in investigation reports and/or in our Annual Reports, and shared publicly on our website, via social and traditional news media. Copies of some of these reports are available on this site and at our head office.
What we cannot do
Both the Namibian Constitution and the enabling legislation prevent us from receiving and handling certain types of complaints. As such, the Ombudsman cannot investigate and overturn decisions of elected officials or set public policy. Redo the work of other investigative bodies or accountability mechanisms. Take sides in disputes. Provide legal advice or representation. Act as an advocate for a person or public body; take complaints about Judges and other judicial officers presiding in courts (except administrative matters); Receive and investigate complaints regarding civil disputes, private companies or private individuals/persons disputes (except when it involves human rights violations), self-regulating professions (e.g., lawyers, doctors, nurses, teachers), student associations and unions, to mention but a few.