The Office of the Ombudsman was installed according to Article 89 of our Constitution. He is supposed to be independent and all organs of State are duty bound to assist him/her in the performance of his duties,which are set out in Article 91. Art.91 (e) gives him the power to take appropriate actions against any violations of the Constitution by any State organ or institution.
According to Art.91 (g) he also has to report "annually to the National Assembly on the exercise of his or her powers and functions." These reports can be found HERE.
Considering my article about the present archaic conditions in the Okahandja Police cells in 2014, the Ombudsman's Police Cells Report of course caught my eye, so I downloaded it. It is an eye opener in many ways, but mainly regarding the independence, dignity and effectiveness of the Ombudsman in Namibia.
Since 2006 the Ombudsman has done his duty investigating and reporting this matter, yet to date 2014 nothing has changed. The archaic conditions still exist and Article 8 of our Constitution keeps being grossly violated by the Namibian Police.
The question is WHY?
As I asked before: has our Constitution been abandoned? Or do we just have a bunch of illiterate, incompetent, selfish puppets of the New World Order in our government?
One thing becomes obvious from the Ombudsman's report: by interviewing only station commanders and their deputies, the truth is being hidden from the public as well as from those in control.
"The information included in the report was again gathered at the hand of a pro-forma questionnaire which was used in order to standardise information; also, the information was acquired through interviews with station commanders or their deputies; as before, detainees were not interviewed in order to maintain the focus of the report on general conditions/circumstances/problems and possible reasons for the prevailing conditions, rather than problems experienced by individuals."
Not the rights of station commanders and their deputies are violated by the circumstances and conditions prevailing in police holding cells, but the human rights of the detainees awaiting trial.
Sure, station commanders and their deputies know that healthy food, soap and toilet paper gets delivered to stations, so they can answer the pro-forma questionnaire truthfully, hiding what happens between receipt and actual delivery to cell inmates.
And just as sure detainees, if interviewed in cells, will not talk about their experiences for fear of retribution afterwards.
To really find the Truth, unannounced personal visits and inspections by really independent persons have to be carried out regularly.
My Conclusion:
By maintaining the focus of the report on general conditions/circumstances/problems the Ombudsman circumvents his duty as stipulated in Art.91 (a) of the Constitution.
The Report thus looses its force and can be filed away as just another report.
By using a pro forma questionnaire and interviewing only those in control the Ombudsman has associated himself with those whom he is supposed to control, thus loosing his authority and independence.
According to Art.91 (g) he also has to report "annually to the National Assembly on the exercise of his or her powers and functions." These reports can be found HERE.
Considering my article about the present archaic conditions in the Okahandja Police cells in 2014, the Ombudsman's Police Cells Report of course caught my eye, so I downloaded it. It is an eye opener in many ways, but mainly regarding the independence, dignity and effectiveness of the Ombudsman in Namibia.
Since 2006 the Ombudsman has done his duty investigating and reporting this matter, yet to date 2014 nothing has changed. The archaic conditions still exist and Article 8 of our Constitution keeps being grossly violated by the Namibian Police.
The question is WHY?
As I asked before: has our Constitution been abandoned? Or do we just have a bunch of illiterate, incompetent, selfish puppets of the New World Order in our government?
One thing becomes obvious from the Ombudsman's report: by interviewing only station commanders and their deputies, the truth is being hidden from the public as well as from those in control.
"The information included in the report was again gathered at the hand of a pro-forma questionnaire which was used in order to standardise information; also, the information was acquired through interviews with station commanders or their deputies; as before, detainees were not interviewed in order to maintain the focus of the report on general conditions/circumstances/problems and possible reasons for the prevailing conditions, rather than problems experienced by individuals."
Not the rights of station commanders and their deputies are violated by the circumstances and conditions prevailing in police holding cells, but the human rights of the detainees awaiting trial.
Sure, station commanders and their deputies know that healthy food, soap and toilet paper gets delivered to stations, so they can answer the pro-forma questionnaire truthfully, hiding what happens between receipt and actual delivery to cell inmates.
And just as sure detainees, if interviewed in cells, will not talk about their experiences for fear of retribution afterwards.
To really find the Truth, unannounced personal visits and inspections by really independent persons have to be carried out regularly.
My Conclusion:
By maintaining the focus of the report on general conditions/circumstances/problems the Ombudsman circumvents his duty as stipulated in Art.91 (a) of the Constitution.
The Report thus looses its force and can be filed away as just another report.
By using a pro forma questionnaire and interviewing only those in control the Ombudsman has associated himself with those whom he is supposed to control, thus loosing his authority and independence.
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