I will address three main issues, namely, the injustices in our judiciary and legislature; juvenile criminals; and our safety and security. The Namibian nation is in grief, danger, fear and confusion. The veracity and integrity of our courts are questionable. Dangerous criminals are in charge of Namibia. Why does a small society have to suffer from crimes of this nature? The chief reason lies in the administration of justice, safety and security’s operations, and the society itself.
All these are premised on the overall legislative system and its facilitative regime. My question is how do ‘some’ of our magistrates comprehend the rationale for jailing criminals? Isn’t it to give the innocent society peace of mind it deserves and probably to rehabilitate these criminals? If so, why do they release dangerous criminals immediately back into society without thorough investigations or prosecution? Two case scenarios are comparable.
First is the recent Dorado suspect-murderers being simply granted bail of N$1 000 immediately after the incident without any formal prosecution.
Second is that of a woman who was killed on Swakopmund beach and the suspects were never granted bail until thorough investigations and prosecutions were completed and the major culprit remained behind bars until sentencing?
What conclusion can we derive from these two case scenarios? Are there different laws between Windhoek and Swakopmund/Walvis Bay courts? Why jail only one Namibian involved in a head-on collision while others who committed the same offence, including the Rundu-Grootfontein massacre, were left untouched? What makes some cases more special than others or is it a matter of skill/experience discrepancies?
What criteria are used by magistrates to grant bail and how can they be fairly justified? It is very strange in this world that a suspect-murderer is granted a peanut-bail. What message are we sending to the would-be criminals?
Although bail is not a final punishment, it is supposed to serve as a deterrent factor for crimes and its magnanimity shall reflect the nature of the crimes and the associated damages. If bail is premised on the fact that a suspect remains innocent till proven guilty, then why do we jail suspects before sentencing or why do we bail some and deny others such a privilege?
I personally consider murder as the most serious crime of all crimes in humanity. Hence, murderer-bail granted, if needs be, after thorough investigations and prosecutions, should not be equivalent to any non-murder cases and should not be affordable in a similar manner – one cannot purchase a precious life back.
I don’t know how the Namibian government and its society value a human life. Is it morally right to value animals, diamonds and other forms of wealth over a human life the same way criminals do?
As far as I can think, there are only four serious crimes in this world and I list them in ranking order, namely, murder, rape, armed robbery and drug dealing. However, in many cases bail is granted in this country for less serious crimes in multiples of thousands and millions, why? My appeal is, if there is anyone who was granted bail of more than N$1000 then take your respective magistrates to court to justify why you were granted bail of such a magnitude while a suspect of the most serious crime in humanity ‘murder’ is let off on less bail.
On to the issue of juvenile criminals. Are we implying that juveniles cannot be criminals or why do we release them in the care of their parents or guardians, irrespective of the severity of the crime? Isn’t it in the same hands of this very same parents or guardians that these juveniles are committing such crimes, and what differences are we expecting after releasing them?
Most parents are also tired of disciplining criminal-oriented children. They suffer in silence in their homes, with no peace of mind. Why can’t we create juvenile prisons in as much as we have created juvenile courts? Why can’t we introduce human rights, religion, and criminal justice education for juveniles to know what they should pay for their evil deeds?
Our justice system is full of loopholes and this is one of the chief reasons why cases that could even be solved by someone with a Grade 10 certificate keep on piling up in our courts. Namibian lawyers have capitalized on this. A suspect can tell a police official ‘don’t talk to me, talk to my lawyer.’
Naturally, everybody arrested is supposed to give a true confession to the police before consulting a lawyer who may probably advise him on the best way to win or delay the case, and this complicates prosecutions and investigations which may eventually end up in real culprits being not found guilty.
On the issue of safety and security, our security system is very weak and inconsistent. Most of the criminals keep on patrolling the city 24 hours and they seem to have strategic locations but it seems our twin police force (Nampol and City Police) are not brave enough to carry out regular day and night patrols on our streets to capture and search these criminals for dangerous weapons and unlicensed guns.
By the look of things, criminals have more advanced and dynamic intelligence than the security force. The twin-police must please educate themselves accordingly and do regular patrols and searches on suspected houses as much as possible. The society must also please refrain from housing and nurturing criminals. Home-owners found with a number of recognizable stolen properties must face the full force of the law.
Something, somewhere, somehow is seriously wrong in Namibia and must be corrected with immediate effect before more damages occur. Finally, a house or a country without strict and enforceable regulations, laws and order is likely to lose morals, and become corrupt and collapse in the long run. Namibia is no exception.
P Muteyauli