The UWC Faculty of Law is very proud to share the news of the appointment of Ms Yvonne Dausab as the Minister of Justice in Namibia as from 22 March 2020.

Yvonne attended the AI Steenkamp Primary School (1981-1987), and thereafter the A Shipena Secondary School (1988-1992), both located in Windhoek. She studied at UWC from 1993 to 1997, where she completed the BA (law) and LLB degrees. She obtained an LLM degree (in Human Rights and African Democratisation), from the University of Pretoria (2001-2002) and a Certificate in Disability Law from the National University of Ireland, Galway (2015).

She was admitted as a legal practitioner in Namibia in 2000 and has served inter alia as the regional coordinator of the Southern Africa Human Rights NGO-Network (SAHRINGON) from 2001 to 2005 in Lusaka, Zambia; Law Lecturer and Deputy Dean at the University of Namibia (2011-2015); and Chairperson of the Law Reform and Development Commission (2015-2020).

In an interview with Innocentia Gaoes, published in Sister Namibia (Apr-Jun 2016, Vol. 28 Issue 2, pp 20-22), Yvonne said the following in response to a question as to the best way to achieve long-term success: “I think to be patient and willing to learn, make mistakes, and to practise consistently, over a period of time so that you become better at your trade and/or purpose. But more importantly, not to stop learning and always remind yourself why you do what you do and doing it the best way you can.”