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Voice for the voiceless

Elizabeth Joseph



Anne-Doris Hans-Kaumbi, a mother of three, was raised at a Roman Catholic missionary called Döbra about 20km from Windhoek.

“I love travelling, singing and spending time with my loved ones. I would like to believe I'm humble, loyal and respectful,” she says.

Hans-Kaumbi is an analytical, driven lawyer and director at Ueitele & Hans Inc.

She's passionate about people and is a member of the Namibian Women's Lawyers Association (NWLA) - committed to training and assisting in developing the careers of young, upcoming female lawyers.

“The Namibian Women's Lawyers Association has created a platform where young and upcoming legal practitioners can be mentored by the more senior female legal practitioners. In so doing we are ensuring that the quality of our female legal practitioners is up to standard. We also cater for final year LLB students in an attempt to assist them with their integration into the legal fraternity. This association is one of its kind as it is the only non–racial female lawyers association in Namibia. It provides pro bono services to vulnerable members of society and consists of more than 400 female lawyers and final-year LLB students.”

Hans-Kaumbi always knew what she wanted to do and that it would take courage and perseverance to reach her goals in the then predominantly male legal fraternity. She recently celebrated 15 years of being a lawyer and it is clear she did everything in her power to make sure her vision became reality.

After many nights of studying, she obtained her B. Juris and LLB degrees at the University of Namibia (Unam) and was admitted as a legal practitioner to the High Court of Namibia on 7 April 2003 by our current Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Shivute CJ, and subsequently became a mediator in the High Court.

In 1999 she took up the position of case interpreter at a workshop on the Empowerment of Traditional leaders through leadership training.

She further broadened her horizons by joining the Ministry of Justice in the personnel department in 2000. Hans-Kaumbi was also a student assistant for the Faculty of Law in 2001 and proved to be a Jill of all trades.

She was a candidate legal practitioner at EV Bok & Associates and this is where she was trained to handle estates under the mentorship of the late Victor Bok.

In 2003 she joined Honourable Justice Shafimana Ueitele at Ueitele Legal Practitioners and became a partner in February 2006.

She invested her time in the business and that was the birth of Ueitele and Hans Legal Practitioners.

“In my career I have seen and assisted many people that have been exposed to hardships where their rights were infringed and they were violated by people they trusted. Unfortunately most of them were women. Therefore the strength of women in Namibia inspires me because despite what they encounter in their personal and professional lives, they stand firm and raise their families in the toughest situations possible,” she says.

Hans-Kaumbi's short-term goals are to be an exemplary legal practitioner who upholds the law and defends the rights of the voiceless and who trains young and upcoming lawyers to be the best they can be in their careers.