The National Assembly has been approached to ratify an agreement between Namibia and the Russian Federation on the transfer of sentenced persons. Safety and security deputy minister Daniel Kashikola tabled the motion last week in the National Assembly. 

In terms of Section 20 of the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Act, 2005 (Act No. 9 of 2005) the minister responsible for correctional facilities is authorised to enter into agreements with other countries on the transfer of convicted Namibian offenders from such countries.  
Kashikola, while tabling the motion, said that during the 7th Session of the Namibia-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation in Windhoek during 2017 emphasis was made to finalise the agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons.
He said the work on the finalisation of the agreement between the two countries is ongoing and the final draft was agreed upon in May last year. “The agreement was signed in Moscow, Russia on 17 June 2019. In accordance with section 20 (2) of the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Act, 2005 the agreement is subject to ratification by this august house before entering into force,” Kashikola told lawmakers.

He said that in accordance with the process for the ratification of international agreements the contract has been scrutinised by the Office of the Attorney General, approved by Cabinet and is now in parliament for approval.
Kashikola said the ratification of this agreement would enable Russian nationals in Namibian correctional facilities to be considered for transfer to their country, thus easing the overcrowding in some of the country’s correctional facilities.
Likewise, he said, Namibian nationals who may be in correctional facilities in Russia can be considered for transfer to Namibia to continue serving their sentence at home, making successful reintegration into society more feasible.