Covering events from January - December 2002

REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA
Head of state: Samuel Nujoma
Head of government: Hage Geingob
Death penalty: abolitionist for all crimes
International Criminal Court: ratified

There were reports of human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest and torture by police officers. Members of the security forces were responsible for extrajudicial executions in the Caprivi region.

Background

Over 345,000 Namibians experienced food shortages resulting from erratic rainfall and drought; the Caprivi region in the northeast of the country was the hardest hit. Although the death penalty was abolished at Independence in 1985, its reintroduction was raised in parliament in the context of deterring crime.

Police involvement in abuses

The police and paramilitary police, known as the Special Field Forces (SFF), continued to commit human rights violations including arbitrary arrests, excessive use of force, beatings and "disappearances". The use of torture by police and the SFF to extract confessions from suspects was reported. Approximately 23 deaths in custody occurred during 2002.

  • In October, nine minors were arrested on suspicion of housebreaking. Several police officers wearing SFF uniforms, as well as plain-clothes detectives, reportedly beat and tortured them with whips and electric shocks. Five minors remained in custody at the end of the year. A trial date was scheduled for April 2003.
Extrajudicial executions

The Namibian armed forces extrajudicially executed people they suspected of collaborating with the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) in northern Namibia. Three suspected UNITA rebels were shot and killed near the northern border and western Caprivi in February. In November, five alleged Caprivi secessionists were killed by members of the Namibian Defence Force on Situngu Island in the Caprivi region. The National Society for Human Rights, a Namibian human rights organization, called for an independent investigation into the killings. No formal investigation had taken place by the end of the year.

Undue delay in Caprivi treason trial

People continued to be subjected to excessive periods of detention without trial, most notably in the case of the 126 Caprivi detainees facing 275 charges of high treason, public violence, sedition, and possession of firearms and ammunition, for allegedly taking part in attacks on government installations in Katima Mulilo and providing support to the Caprivi Liberation Army (CLA) in August 1999. Following their successful application to the Supreme Court in June for state-funded legal representation, three legal aid representatives were appointed to represent the detainees. A trial date was set for February 2003. The detainees had remained in detention without trial since late 1999 despite several unsuccessful bail applications, which raised serious concerns from local and international human rights organizations regarding the detainees' rights to a prompt and fair trial. Eight detainees had died in custody since 1999.

Detention without charge or trial

Seventy-eight men were detained without charge or trial in Dordabis, in the Kavango region. They had been held since June and July 2000, accused of being UNITA soldiers and collaborators. In December, 74 of the men were forcibly deported to Angola. Two others were released in December and remained in Namibia. By the end of the year, two remained in custody pending further investigation by the authorities. Although Namibia's Constitution states that detainees must be charged within two days or released, none of those held had been charged with a criminal offence during their detention.

Freedom of expression

In August, President Nujoma took control of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, reportedly in an effort to tackle technical problems at the state-run Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). The following month, President Nujoma instructed the NBC to broadcast only films which portray Namibia in a positive light. The NBC was also ordered to stop broadcasting foreign films and television series perceived to have a negative influence on Namibian youth. The President's control of the Information Ministry raised concerns among local journalists and media organizations about increasing restrictions on freedom of expression.

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