Constitutional Justice Manahan Sitompul visiting Indonesian diaspora at Wisma Duta, Windhoek, South Africa (15/10/2019). Photo by Humas MK.

WINDHOEK, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—After his official visit to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Namibia, Constitutional Justice Manahan Sitompul met with the Indonesian diaspora at Wisma Duta, Windhoek, South Africa (15/10/2019). Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Namibia Eddy Basuki, officials, diplomats, and staff of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia were in attendance, as well as Indonesians living in Windhoek, Namibia.

In his speech, Eddy Basuki said that he was very happy and proud to be visited by state institutions, including the Constitutional Court, a constitutional judicial institution with the same vision as the Supreme Court of Namibia. "I am very happy to be accompanying Constitutional Justice Manahan Sitompul in a bilateral meeting with the head of the Namibian Supreme Court and a visit to the High Court and the Magistrates’ Court," he said.

Eddy added that the visit had a very strategic agenda for strengthening cooperation with other constitutional judicial institutions. "We really appreciate this agenda and hopefully it can be implemented in the future," he said.

Justice Manahan Sitompul was very grateful for the welcome of the Indonesian Embassy in Windhoek. "The Constitutional Court delegation I and are very grateful for the service and assistance during our bilateral meeting with the Supreme Court of Namibia. The Ambassador accompanied us on various sessions until the event was over," he said.

Justice Manahan further explained the role of the Constitutional Court and the purpose of the bilateral meeting with the Supreme Court of Namibia. The Constitutional Court is guardian of the Constitution and protector of citizens’ constitutional rights. "We came to the Namibian Supreme Court to ask for support from fellow member of the WCCJ, so that [we] be trusted to host the sixth WCCJ congress in 2024. Besides that, we are also preparing for the first Asian-African Constitutional Courts congress. We have also proposed a memorandum of understanding with the Supreme Court of Namibia and invited [them] to attend an international symposium in Bali," he explained.

Before the Indonesian diaspora, Justice Manahan also shared experiences in pursuing a career and carrying out the mandate as a judge until later becoming a constitutional justice. "My life\'s journey was filled with various struggles to get to this point, since in college I worked hard to pay for college until I finally got my law degree from North Sumatra University, Medan," he recalled.

The audience was very enthusiastic in listening to the development of Indonesian constitutional issues dealt by the Constitutional Court in its various decisions. Many of them followed the development of the Constitutional Court through social media such as YouTube, especially during the hearing of the 2019 general elections. (MMA/WAD/LA)

Translated by: Yuniar Widiastuti