It has become normal practice for the Namibian Police to violate the rights of the inhabitants. With the recent visit of UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, to Namibia, the police once again openly demonstrated their absolute disdain for the
Namibian Constitution, the Supreme law of the land.
According to a media report they threw a community activist into a police van in full view of the public. I have personally seen that kind of action on a previous occasion, when a police officer literally threw my grandson into the back of his van without him having shown any resistance at all. The officer just told him to get out of the car and as soon as he did that, the officer grabbed him, threw him into the van and drove off, no explanation, no reading of rights, nothing. I and my granddaughter were so shocked, we could barely drive the car back to the police station. We were too shocked to even think of laying a charge against that officer right away. Reading that media report now, nearly two years after our incident, the whole episode once again comes alive and puts me in psychological turmoil.
It is an open violation of our right to dignity as stipulated in Article 8(2) of the Namibian Constitution. It is also a violation of article 11(1). Now I am asking: how can the Namibian police force be allowed to violate our Supreme law in that way without any repercussions? isn't it a clear sign that our Constitution is no longer the supreme law of the land? Isn't it a clear sign that the ruling party, SWAPO, does not recognize and uphold our Constitution as they are supposed to?
The situation being as it is, it is our civil duty as inhabitants of the country to hold our civil servants accountable for their actions. If they don't protect and uphold the Constitution, we the people have the duty to do it in order to stay a free country. We have to know, claim and defend our rights in order to live as a free people.
Namibian Constitution, the Supreme law of the land.
According to a media report they threw a community activist into a police van in full view of the public. I have personally seen that kind of action on a previous occasion, when a police officer literally threw my grandson into the back of his van without him having shown any resistance at all. The officer just told him to get out of the car and as soon as he did that, the officer grabbed him, threw him into the van and drove off, no explanation, no reading of rights, nothing. I and my granddaughter were so shocked, we could barely drive the car back to the police station. We were too shocked to even think of laying a charge against that officer right away. Reading that media report now, nearly two years after our incident, the whole episode once again comes alive and puts me in psychological turmoil.
It is an open violation of our right to dignity as stipulated in Article 8(2) of the Namibian Constitution. It is also a violation of article 11(1). Now I am asking: how can the Namibian police force be allowed to violate our Supreme law in that way without any repercussions? isn't it a clear sign that our Constitution is no longer the supreme law of the land? Isn't it a clear sign that the ruling party, SWAPO, does not recognize and uphold our Constitution as they are supposed to?
The situation being as it is, it is our civil duty as inhabitants of the country to hold our civil servants accountable for their actions. If they don't protect and uphold the Constitution, we the people have the duty to do it in order to stay a free country. We have to know, claim and defend our rights in order to live as a free people.
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