Ms Ester Kuugongelwa, is an admitted Legal Practioner of the High Court of Namibia and holds a BJurius and LLB (Honours) obtained from the University of Namibia. She further holds a Master’s Degree with special focus on public procurement regulations obtained from Stellenbosch University in 2015. Since then, Ms Kuugongelwa has been dedicated to the field of public procurement where she continues to present papers at both local and international conferences. She has also co-authored a number of academic publications with the African Procurement Law Unit (APLU) where she serves as Namibia’s Research Associate.

Ms Kuugongelwa has over six years’ experience in the legal field spanning from serving as a Judge’s Legal Researcher at the Windhoek High Court of Namibia to being appointed as a Chief Policy Analyst at the Procurement Policy Unit (PPU) under the Ministry of Finance. Together with the Director, they established the Legal Support and Compliance Directorate at the PPU in 2019. The role included providing legal advice to both public and private entities on procurement matters, public training on the Public Procurement Act, formulating policies, conducting investigations on irregular procurement procedures and consulting on the amendments to the existing procurement laws.

In pursuit of her passion for education and belief in giving back to the community, Ms Kuugongelwa has over the years served as a part-time Lecture at the University of Namibia’s Faculty of Law. In April 2022, she took up a role at the Namibia University of Science and Technology where she serves as a Legal Studies Lecture, lecturing Commercial and Business Law.