When former Namibian health minister Libertina Amathila made an emotional plea five years ago for prostitution to be legalised, her cabinet colleagues, parliament and the churches shot her views down, saying they were unacceptable. Richard Kamwi, Amathila's successor, said the government would not revisit the matter, but the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) has insisted a rethink is necessary in a country with an adult HIV prevalence rate of over 21 percent.

At least 269 asylum seekers currently residing at Osire Camp have been denied refugee status by the Namibian government. The majority are from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Liberia and Uganda. According to the Chairman of the Association for the Defence of Refugee Rights (ADR) at Osire MacGoddins Lushimba, refugees received responses from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration indicating that their requests for refugee status had been rejected.

Kaitira Kandjii, 43, has been appointed the new Regional Director of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) as from 1 April 2006, according to a report in the Namibia Economist. Kandjii takes over from Luckson Chipare, a Zimbabwean, who has worked for MISA for the last 10 years, five of the last ones as Regional Director. Before his appointment, Kandjii, the first Namibian to hold the senior post, was the head of Freedom of Expression at the MISA Regional Secretariat in Windhoek.

The successful applicant will serve the Alliance in the next steps of its development in order to promote decentralised cooperation and good local governance to accelerate and expand responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, based on values of equity and partnership across sectors and targeting those most in need. Fluency in English and French is essential.