As the old saying goes, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

We will not get tired, relent or equivocate in bringing to your attention how evil a society we have become.

Day-in, day-out, we read screamingly sick headlines about how crime is tearing the nation apart and burning the core of our moral fabric, if at all there is any left in us.

This week, a New Era report revealed that a 15-year-old girl fell pregnant after allegedly being raped by a pastor on two separate occasions. The man of cloth presides over a Pentecostal church in northern Namibia.

This year already, in the Omusati region, a pastor of another Pentecostal church was arrested after allegedly raping three learners at his home in the Onkandi village in the Etayi constituency.

Still in the Omusati region, a Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (Elcin) pastor was also arrested for allegedly raping an 18-year-old girl on different occasions. These alleged perpetrators are pastors, people from whom society least expects these crimes. Let that sink in.

In the Bible, Apostle Paul charged Timothy to “preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching”, doing the work of an evangelist.

An evangelist should faithfully proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ, make the sinner aware of his sins, correct with compassion, encourage with hope, and never lose hope in the belief that man is beyond redemption.

But here in Namibia, clergymen have been appearing in the news for all the wrong reasons.

It appears these are just sexual predators dressed in robes, or, like the Bible says, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, which is an idiom from Jesus’s sermon on the Mount. It warns us against individuals who play a duplicitous role.

Not so long ago, this paper once again reported that a 15-year-old boy was hospitalised after allegedly being gang-raped by two men while on their way to Eenhana in the Ohangwena region.

The same article reported that a 44-year-old man -a school principal – accused of raping his biological daughter, was denied bail in the Oshakati Magistrate’s Court.

To be more graphic on the latter, while committing the alleged rapes on his daughter, the perpetrator would allegedly tell her that he was grooming her for womanhood while having sexual intercourse with her under coercive circumstances. This is sick by any measure. Since when is having sex with your daughter a form of parenting? It’s disgusting.

Moving on to add further insult to injury, a report this week revealed that about 928 children were sexually abused. The figure could be much higher, if one considers the fact that most of these cases go largely unreported.

Coupled with this, a further 1 173 cases of child neglect were reported in the past year. This also comes hot on the heels of a report that a 14-year-old girl, who can barely take care of herself, has been forced to care of her three siblings after their parents reportedly turned their backs on them.

The father, it was reported, left nine years ago, while the mother is said to have left around 2020. She, however, recently made a cameo appearance to give birth, before vanishing into thin air again.

Not only are children, who are already not safe in the care of their own parents, sexually abused, but they are physically abused too. It was reported that 526 cases of physical abuse were reported during the same period.

This week, again, a 40-year-old man was denied bail for allegedly attempting to rape his biological mother. The victim is 79. Not even our elderly in society have been spared from these heinous crimes.

Several measures have been taken to address crime in this country.

But the situation is worsening by the day, if reports, both in the media and by the police, are anything to go by.

In 2022, the government proposed changes to the Combating of Rape Act to increase the minimum sentencing of perpetrators for up to 20 years in prison from the current 10 years to 15 years.

At the time, between January and August 2021, Namibia had recorded close to 700 rape cases, “with a disproportionate impact on women and girls.”.

Putting statistics to the face of crime in the country, between 2021 and 2022, a total of 98 640 criminal cases were reported countrywide, showing an increase of 7%, compared to the previous year.

Out of those cases, the Khomas, Oshana and Otjozondjupa regions have the highest crime rates, whereas Kavango West, Kunene and Omaheke recorded the least number of cases.

It is an open secret that women and children continue to suffer sexual abuse by male offenders.

Statistics have revealed that from 2019 to July 2022, around 4 000 Namibian women fell victim to rape.

While authorities are doing their utmost to stop these hideous acts of violence by increasing penalties for people found guilty of such behaviour, it seems criminals just put a deaf ear to it. 

With the nation seemingly engulfed by an inferno of crime, key institutions responsible for safety and security, health, gender-related issues and public wellbeing must be taken to task.

More needs to be done. Let’s all get our hands on deck to combat crime. It begins with you.