The nation is united in grief following the horrendous death of 4-year-old Fortuna Tenete whose life was brutally cut short allegedly at the hands of a pre-trial detainee.
The toddler died after he was allegedly savaged by an inmate who was involved in a quarrel with his mother, who at the time was in custody after she failed to pay N$500 bail for alleged shoplifting. It is sad that Fortuna Tenete died under the nose of the police who have been found wanting, because they simply failed in their duty to protect this highly vulnerable child. Fortuna Tenete did not commit any crime and did not deserve to die and more so in a prison cell, because the police are entrusted by the State to protect the lives of Namibian citizens and there should be no compromise on this obligatory function.
Article 15 of the Constitution of Namibia guarantees the protection of children, and the police, in fact the entire criminal justice system failed to uphold that part of the constitution, by not looking after the welfare of Tenete. His rights, as a child, were grossly violated the very moment he was placed in the holding cells. The administration of children’s welfare too was found sleeping and wanting, and this should perhaps serve as a wake-up call to the plight of other little Fortunas languishing in police holding cells with their mothers, and who are literally made to pay for the crimes of their parents. This child was not supposed to be in police custody, because he did not commit any crime and the court should have released his mother since she did not commit a Schedule 1 crime that includes murder and other serious offences. His mother should have been granted bail, because being accused of any crime is not the same as being convicted of such a crime. This tragedy puts under the spotlight the fate of other Namibian toddlers and babies who become unwitting detainees simply because their mothers have been detained as suspects in crime. In cases where children become unwitting detainees the police should ensure these children are not kept in the same cells as trial-awaiting detainees and they should be protected 24/7.
Sadly, our criminal justice system, including the police do not have special holding cells for mothers who unfortunately have to be detained together with their children. These vulnerable children end up sharing cells with hard-core criminals and they are left at the mercy of these miscreants. In most of these cases the police end up incarcerating these mothers together with their children, because a detainee informs a court that there is no one to baby-sit their kids. On the other hand the police, due to budgetary constraints, do not have holding cells specifically designated for trial-awaiting mothers who have babies or young children. The most ideal scenario is for these suspects to be kept in mother and baby friendly cells that are conducive for the wellbeing of the child, including proper nutrition and care, including toys.
That death should not have happened, and more so, considering the fact this occurred at a police station where several officers were purportedly on duty and while a police station should be a place of safety. Although the government goes out of its way to ensure that all trial-awaiting detainees overcrowding the holding cells of the nation’s police stations have the basic dietary requirements and basic bedding – problems abound. In most cases the lack of special cells for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers compel the police to improvise by setting aside the least overcrowded cells for these breast-feeding detainees and in some cases these pre-trial inmates are incarcerated at the Hosea Kutako Police Station, whose cells are usually empty for weeks on end.
The police do not have a special budget to feed these children just like it does not have such special cells and often have to request the Ministry of Health and Social Services for dietary assistance to offset this shortcoming. Valuable lessons should be drawn from the tragic demise of Fortuna whose death could have been prevented had the police taken basic protective measures in the best interest of Fortuna. It is a well-known fact that prison conditions in Namibia are among the best in Africa, because no prisoner has died for want of food and the government has made significant improvements since independence already. Therefore, the police should not tarnish this good record of our government.
By The Editor