Dausab champions Cybercrime Bill

The justice ministry has started with amendments to laws concerning cybercrimes and online gender-based violence (OGBV). This according to minister Yvonne Dausab, who was speaking during the launch of an OGBV report in Windhoek yesterday.The Internet Society’s Namibian chapter collaborated on the report in partnership with Meta and various other stakeholders.During her keynote address, Dausab said online violence is real violence and should be considered a serious offence."OGBV is a very pervasive and deeply disturbing problem. It poses a serious challenge to the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals," she said.The minister further noted that Namibia is working hard to implement a government-wide action plan against GBV - including the recent amendments to the Combatting of Rape and Domestic Violence Act, establishing a separate court for GBV cases and launching GBV prevention programmes in school curriculums.Cybercrime BillWhile the Cybercrime Bill is only in its draft phase, it is said to aim to protect the right to privacy of Namibian citizens, as well as to protect against abuse of their data and personal information and regulate the cross-border flow of personal data.Dausab said the Bill also creates new offences regarding online and communication crimes."This includes offences such as posing a credible threat of violence against someone, intent to cause serious emotional distress and false statements intended to harm the reputation of someone.“Also, making explicit sexual remarks that contain explicit photos of a person without their consent. These offenses are punishable by up to a N$10 000 fine and/or two years’ imprisonment," she said.Government is in the process of finalising this cybercrime-related legislation in the form of a package of Bills, including the Electronic Transactions Act 4 of 2019, a Cybercrime Bill (draft) and a Data Protection Bill (2013 draft).Until recently, Namibia used the Computer Evidence Act 32 of 1985 to adjudicate cases involving electronic evidence.This has since been repealed by the Electronic Transactions Act 4 of 2019 (OG 5152).QuietThe fight against GBV and GBV-related crimes has been supported by various institutions over the years.But during her speech, Dausab noted that the private sector has been especially quiet and is not "overtly involved in matters concerning GBV".“There hasn&#039;t been sufficient support,” she said, adding that more can be done under corporate social responsibility pillars to help curb this scourge.The OGBV report is an eight-country analysis of the prevalence of digitally-enabled GBV.Countries included are Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Dausab champions Cybercrime Bill

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-21

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Dausab champions Cybercrime Bill

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-21

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