Court orders police to feed inmates on court days

The Oshakati High Court has ordered police at the Ondangwa, Omungwelume and Oshakati police stations to ensure accused persons in custody are given breakfast, lunch and dinner on days they appear in court, after concerns were raised that detainees spend entire court days without being given anything to eat.

In an order issued on 23 July, Judge Johanna Salionga directed the station commanders of the three police stations to ensure the accused receive meals before and during court appearances on all future trial dates.

The directive followed concerns that accused persons were leaving police holding cells before breakfast was served and returning only after dinner had already been served, leaving them without food for an entire day.

The order applies to six accused involved in a criminal trial before the Oshakati High Court.

The Office of the Registrar was instructed to serve copies of the order to Ondangwa, Omungwelume and Oshakati station commanders to ensure compliance.

The ruling comes after Oshakati-based legal practitioner Wilmarie Horn-Bronkhorst raised alarm over the treatment of accused persons in police custody, saying some arrive at court hungry and too weak to meaningfully participate in proceedings.

"We had to postpone a High Court trial today because the accused persons were weak from hunger. They last ate yesterday at 17:00. This is inhumane," she wrote in a recent post on social media.

She said accused persons, particularly those transported from other towns, often miss breakfast and lunch before appearing in court and frequently also miss dinner because evening meals are served before they are returned to their holding cells.

"Forcing an accused person to spend an entire day in court without food constitutes a severe violation of their constitutional rights, specifically the right to human dignity and the right to a fair trial under the Constitution," she explained to Namibian Sun.

Horn-Bronkhorst has urged the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security to instruct all police station commanders to ensure accused persons receive meals on court days.

Duty of care

In a legal argument seen by Namibian Sun, Horn-Bronkhorst argued that accused persons held in police custody have a constitutional and statutory right to receive food while attending court and that denying them meals for an entire day could violate their basic human rights.

Although the Namibian Constitution does not expressly guarantee a right to food, she said the State's obligation arises from constitutional protections, including the presumption of innocence, the right to dignity and the right to a fair trial.

"Because they are under the care and control of the State, the government bears an absolute duty of care to sustain them," she said, adding that depriving unconvicted accused persons of food amounts to punishment before conviction and undermines the presumption of innocence.

She further argued that hunger can impair an accused person's ability to instruct legal counsel, follow proceedings and participate effectively in their defence.

Horn-Bronkhorst said the Namibian Police is responsible for providing food to accused persons held in police cells or transported to and from court under the Police Act, while responsibility shifts to the Namibian Correctional Service once a detainee has been remanded to a correctional facility.

She warned that the practice could have broader consequences for the criminal justice system.

Prolonged hunger could lead to trial postponements, strengthen bail applications, expose the State to constitutional damages claims and prompt investigations by the Office of the Ombudsman, she said.

The issue has surfaced in several recent court proceedings. During the bail application of Dr Fillemon 'Fly' Nakanduungile earlier this year, defence lawyer Smart Elago told the Ondangwa Magistrate's Court that his client was not receiving proper meals while attending court, resulting in low blood sugar levels and dizziness.

Magistrate Lutaka Billy Mutwa subsequently ordered that arrangements be made for Nakanduungile to receive food during the lunch adjournment.

Similar complaints were also raised in the bail application of Petrus Shikwaya and during proceedings involving six accused in the multimillion-dollar Sanlam fraud case, where defence lawyers said their clients were spending entire court days without food.

Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi did not respond to questions by the time of publication.