Rethinking pre-trial detention in Namibia: Summary report: 2021 – 2024

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dc.contributor.authorSchulz, Stefan
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-30T08:14:02Z
dc.date.available2025-09-30T08:14:02Z
dc.date.issued2025-05-15
dc.descriptionSummary report
dc.description.abstractPretrial detention facilities worldwide are overcrowded. In Namibia the number of inmates in remand detention has been on the increase latest since Independence in 1990, and the same problems which can be observed elsewhere plague Namibia. People who are detained in overcrowded facilities struggle to maintain their self-respect and emotional stability. Violence, exploitation, extortion and lack of privacy are generally contributors. In July 2021 we laid down a baseline study proposal under the title Rethinking pre-trial detention in Namibia (Schulz and Bruyns, 2021) with the intention to investigate the reality of pre-trial detention on the ground, i.e., in the remand facilities throughout Namibia. This proposal came about on the back of various reports by the Ombudsman. These reports, among them the 2006 report to Parliament, which highlighted the understanding that at the time about 80% of the remand facilities in police stations throughout the country had been unacceptable, were followed by vast improvements and visible efforts by the Ministry of Safety and Security, including the commissioning of (additional) new police stations with remand facilities, such as in Otjomuise (Khomas Region) and in Omuthiya (Oshikoto Region) and the refurbishment of police holding facilities in Seeis and Dordabis (Khomas Region). Notwithstanding additions and refurbishments, the conditions in police remand facilities remained poor, many deemed unsuitable for human habitation by the Ombudsman (2019, 43 - 48). The situation in bigger police stations, e.g., in Windhoek, Wanaheda (Khomas Region), Swakopmund (Erongo) and Katimo Mulilo (Zambesi) to mention few, has effectively not changed; these stations continuously and constantly experience substantial overcrowding.
dc.identifier.citationSchulz, S. (2025). Rethinking pre-trial detention in Namibia: Summary report: 2021 – 2024 [Report]. Namibia University of Science and Technology.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10628/1085
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherNamibia University of Science and Technology
dc.subjectNamibia
dc.subjectpretrial detention
dc.subjectfacilities
dc.subjectovercrowding
dc.subjectdetainee rights
dc.titleRethinking pre-trial detention in Namibia: Summary report: 2021 – 2024
dc.typeOther

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