Martin Endjala
A study conducted by Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) researchers raised concerns about unwarranted and possibly unlawful pretrial detentions by the Namibian Police.
The report, released on 16 January, indicated that the Windhoek Wanaheda, Katutura, and Otjomuise police stations for detaining citizens unlawfully.
The study, conducted in 2022, was led by NUST’s principal investigator, Stefan Schulz, the deputy director of the department of social sciences under the faculty of commerce, human sciences, and education, along with five student research assistants.
The aim of the study was to determine the extent of unlawful detentions at the identified police stations.
According to the findings, a total of 199 police dockets were sent back by the local prosecutor’s office with instructions for the immediate release of the detained individuals.
This data was collected over three months, from June to August 2024.
There was no evidence linking the detainee to the crime, so they were released.
“This accounted for 25% of all cases, while the prosecutors’ directions to the police to issue an admission-of-guilt fine to the suspect accounted for 43.7% of all cases,” read the report.
The project, called ‘Rethinking Pre-Trial Detention in Namibia’, also looked into bigger issues, such as the human rights concerns of people who are being held without charges before their trials, the criminogenic risks in police conduct, the needs of people who are being held before their trials, the stress that police officers feel at work, and how prosecutors feel about people who are being held before their trials.
The study indicated a staggering 185 out of every 100 000 members of the general population are in pre-trial detention in Namibia. Exceeding the African average of 33.7 per 100 000 citizens.
“Besides the fact that each case represents an instance of human rights violation, any of those cases could give rise to civil liability of the state, with high financial costs bleeding government coffers,” he added.
The report attributed the issue to systemic challenges within the Namibian criminal justice system, including police overload and understaffing, which directly affect the quality of investigations and increase errors.
A technical report with further details is expected to be released in March.
The Namibian Police’s spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi told the Windhoek Observer that they only learned about the Khomas-based study findings through social media.
“No formal communication of the NUST’s draft report on the pretrial detention findings was received for study implementation,” she said.
Shikwambi added that the police would only be able to comment on the study once the report had been formally shared, cleared, and endorsed by the Inspector-General’s office.
“Once received, we will analyse it to determine whether it reflects fact or fiction, and we will use it to improve going forward,” she said.
