officers in Namibia were not committed to the principle of transparency when it comes to the installation of judges. issued a front-page apology to the judiciary, acknowledging that it had published stories and an editorial that did not meet the standards the publication had set for itself. (13) The managing editor had also run a series of articles critical of the State and many other government institutions to the extent that it illustrated a critical and objective outlook on governance within the country, despite the link to the state. Part of the apology read, “We have failed the judiciary, and by extension Chief Justice Peter Shivute, in our mandate by calling respectable members of the judiciary names.” The apology and the suspension of Beukes was criticised as a government-led attempt to tamper On 2 October 2023, New Era backtracked and Namibia’s New Era managing editor Jonathan Beukes STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 2023 64