Oluno
The Commissioner-General of the Namibian Correction Service (NCS) has urged offenders to acknowledge their crimes as a necessary first step towards rehabilitation.
Commissioner-General Raphael Tuhafeni Hamunyela was speaking on Monday at Oluno Correctional Services, where he met with inmates and offenders. He said the NCS offers safe custody to offenders and that prison officials are willing to assist in rehabilitating lawbreakers. He also called on family members of prisoners to visit their loved ones, as it helps in their rehabilitation.
He believes it will be easier for the NCS to rehabilitate offenders if every convict has some connection with their family, so that the correctional officers can consult their relatives.
Hamunyela told the convicts that it is difficult for the NCS to rehabilitate them if they do not acknowledge their wrongdoing.
Despite the wrong they may have done, “that does not make you a wrong somebody in the society,” he said. He told the inmates to accept their sentences and to serve their terms with dignity, so that they can become useful and productive citizens once released from custody.
“As inmates you need to respect yourself so that you will be respected in society. Regard yourself as useful. Don’t waste your time while you are here,” he advised.
Hamunyela said he decided to visit the inmates in order to share information on how to improve services at the correctional centre. The inmates and offenders then had an opportunity to ask questions and interact with the commissioner-general.
The prisoners at Oluno told him in no uncertain terms that they want their living conditions to improve. They said there were weeks when they had to get by without adequate supply of water and that this situation exposes them to further health risks.
There are currently 547 inmates held at Oluno Correctional Service Centre, 27 of whom are women.