Republikein Newspaper

Elizabeth Joseph

Pull Quote: “Hard work and integrity go hand in hand; you can’t have one and not the other.” –Ray Silungwe, founder of Silungwe Legal Practitioners.





University of Namibia (Unam) LLB graduate Ray Chimya Solo Silungwe lives every day to inspire and create.

After graduating with a Degree of Baccalaureus Juris in 2011 and a Bachelor of Law 2012, Silungwe was admitted as a legal practitioner in 2016. He says he wanted to branch out because after five years of practising under someone, it was time.

He took all the experience gained and started his own legal practice called Silungwe Legal Practitioners and officially opened the firm on 28 October this year.

Among other things, Silungwe says that it is absolutely important to do everything with integrity. He has built his strong sense of purpose and coherence and says that he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“There are people who work hard, but have no integrity and in the end, you get caught out. So hard work and integrity go hand in hand; you can’t have one and not the other,” he said.

Silungwe reports to work at 07:30 every weekday. Depending on the day he then prepares for court or to consult with clients. Most of his time is spent doing legal research and drafting legal documents in order to efficiently assist his clients.

“The E-Justice online system makes it extremely easy and more efficient to send through the required paperwork to court,” Silungwe says.

On the job

An urgent court case would only allow him a day for doing the necessary research and preparation before he has to submit it to court, but he says other cases can take days, months and sometimes years to finalise.

He is young, versatile and ready to take on various cases.

“I would say I do a bit of everything but I don’t do conveyancing yet because I don’t have a licence for it, but it is definitely something that I would like to do in future.”

What it takes

The number one trait that he believes every legal practitioner should have is knowing where to find the law. He says a good lawyer is someone that can find the law in every single case they take.

“If a client comes to me and explains their case, I should immediately be able to see and/or find the law in the case before any further progress,” he says.

Lessons learned

Silungwe says his grandfather taught him some of his most valuable life lessons, such as integrity and hard work.

Who does Ray Silungwe remind you of? He is the grandson of former judge Annel Musenga Silungwe, and although Judge Silungwe left a great legacy to follow, Ray Silungwe has carved his own path and is building his own legacy.

He has been inspired by many things and people that he came across in his journey and says that he would like to inspire people as well.

“I would encourage young people to know what they want to do before they go into anything. I have to be honest, I was motivated by the monetary part of law, but shortly after, I realised that it was more than that.

“When you meet clients, coming to you desperate and knowing that you’re the last line of defence for them, you become attached to people through helping them, and that to me is satisfying,” he says proudly.

The Future of the firm

Silungwe wants to be able to expand and possibly bring in more people with diverse expertise, for example conveyancing, which is a service that he would like to add to the firm.

Fun Facts

1. The saddest moment as a child was when his brother told him that WWE wrestling was fake.

2. He can’t dance.

3. He says he loves the smell of cigarette smoke but doesn’t smoke.

4. He used to have a phobia of lightning.

5. He enjoys watching cooking shows but hates cooking or watching people cook.

6. Favourite animal: Lion.

7. Favourite pastime: Playing soccer.

8. Favourite movie: ‘Forrest Gump’.

9. Favourite celebrity: Cristiano Ronaldo.

10. He used to be an extrovert.