Petition asks for tougher bail scrutiny in drug cases

A Lüderitz-based community activist, Ndeshipanda Akwenye, has launched an online petition calling for greater scrutiny of bail applications involving repeat suspects in drug-related cases.

“When individuals who are repeatedly implicated in drug-related offences return to our communities after being granted bail, the community is left asking whether the system is effectively interrupting the cycle of drug distribution or merely allowing it to continue,” the petition reads.

Signaories are calling on the magistrate's office in the harbour town to consider the circumstances of bail applications involving people repeatedly arrested in connection with drug-related offences within the framework of Namibian law.

“We humbly ask that the safety and legitimate concerns of the wider community be taken into consideration, whether previous bail conditions were respected and whether stringent bail conditions are necessary to protect the community and the integrity of the legal process,” the petition states.

Akwenye said the petition, which had gathered 83 signatories after it was launched on 8 September, was not intended to undermine the courts or call for the law to be ignored.

“It is about asking whether the current cycle is producing the level of protection and deterrence that our community desperately needs,” he said.

He said the petition does not ask for the punishment of people before they are found guilty but calls for greater consideration of the risks associated with repeat offending and continued offending while on bail.

“We respect the independence of the judiciary and acknowledge every accused person’s constitutional right to due process and a fair hearing,” Akwenye said.

According to Akwenye, members of the Lüderitz community are concerned about what they see as the continued granting of bail to people repeatedly arrested in connection with drug-related offences.

“If the same people are repeatedly arrested, repeatedly released and repeatedly return to the same environment, then we must have the courage to ask whether the cycle is actually being broken,” he said.

‘Fear and destruction’

Akwenye said drug abuse had wider consequences for the community, particularly children and young people.

“We have a responsibility as a community to speak when a situation continues to cause fear, destruction and suffering among our families and, most importantly, our children,” he said.

“Drug abuse is not simply a criminal-justice issue. It affects our children and young people, families and marriages, schools and education, community safety, and the social and economic development of Lüderitz.”

The petition also raises concerns about pressure on drug-enforcement structures in the town, which Akwenye said were operating with limited personnel and resources.

“We cannot expect an already understaffed and stretched drug-enforcement system to repeatedly arrest the same individuals without addressing the reasons which put suspected offenders back onto the streets,” he said.

“When officers put people behind bars through hard work, and then those same individuals are back in the community in what appears to be the blink of an eye, it creates frustration – not only for law enforcement but also for the community that depends on them for protection.”