By Petronella Sibeene Eewa! Namibia is in distress. The people have run out of words to describe their anger towards those societal miscreants who thrive on committing crime. What doesn’t bode well for my brother and sister next door is also bad news for me. Like many out there, I am full of anger – call it rage against the still-to-be-caught “butcher of Windhoek”. Many are itching to see that culprit and many other criminals roaming the streets of Windhoek brought to book, and justice to be meted out. I pray for the relevant authorities to find the monster responsible for the recent killings and to be locked up and the keys to be thrown into the deepest waters of the Orange River. But is there any justice at all? I am not a law student, but when I hear the word “justice” I think of fairness. Does the Ministry of Justice remind you of fairness? What fairness, for example, is there when a murderer gets off with two or three years’ imprisonment, while a cattle thief gets a 15-year jail sentence? What justice system attaches more value to cattle than a human life? Or do our lawmakers formulate laws to suit themselves? Think of this for a moment. Consider how many of our ministers and lawmakers in particular own farms. Do we perhaps propose and support laws to get back at those who have stolen our livestock somewhere in Omitara, or do we also consider the wellbeing of those we represent in Parliament? Not long ago, the country felt the wave of shebeeners fighting for what they felt was justifiable. It emerged that it is not the unemployed who start or own most shebeens. Who do you, dear reader, think own shebeens and without a licence at that? I need not say more. Those with television sets would agree with me that so often we have watched with wonder how some of our leaders still make a mockery of some proposals raised to eliminate social evils such as wife battering. Norman Tjombe of the Legal Assistance Centre believes justice means fairness, and that it is the cradle of many a legislation. On the one hand, “justice” means that you have the right to be protected and treated fairly by the law. If somebody does something wrong to you or the people around you, it is fair that the wrongdoers should be stopped, and that they should pay the price for what they did. “Justice” also means deciding carefully and fairly whether or not someone actually did something they are being accused of. If there is proof that somebody broke the law, it is fair that they should pay the price. Justice is generally understood to mean what is right, fair, appropriate, deserved. Justice is achieved when an unjust act is redressed and the victim feels whole again. That, in my mind, is what justice should lead to. When we deal with people’s lives, there is no room for error. I feel if someone rapes or murders – especially a child – and those are proved beyond reasonable doubt during a trial, they should die to atone for the crime. We currently have what is labelled the “Criminal Justice System”; that label says it all, folks. Only when we start holding criminals responsible for their crimes will we see a reduction in crime within our country. We need to remember that the victims deserve rights. Criminals who commit capital murder and other heinous crimes deserve the same. I know this sounds harsh, but I’m sick of my tax-paying dollars supporting their stay in prison. I will state that our country should do the taxpayers a favour and get rid of the scum that populate our prisons. People are always fighting for the rights of criminals. But let us remember the victims out there – who were victimized and cannot stand up and represent themselves – for a change. Eewa!