Murder, robbery convicts want early parole

Five prisoners, each serving a term of more than three decades for serious crimes committed twenty or more years ago, are making an urgent application to the High Court for their release on parole.Rachimo Efraim Haradoeb, Veikko Shalimba, Anton Venasi, David Tsamaseb and Simon Josef Kankondi filed the urgent application on 8 March, asking the court to order the safety and security commissioner and prison authorities to consider them for release on parole after they served half of their sentences.All were sentenced to 35 years or more for crimes ranging from murder, arson and armed robbery.Public court filings state the five men hold the “strong conviction”, and are supported by precedent setting judgements, that they qualified for parole after serving half their respective sentences under the Prison Act of 1998, which was in place at the time they committed their respective crimes.They claim the authorities are denying them consideration of parole by incorrectly basing their calculations on the Correctional Service Act of 2012, which came into force in 2014, under which prisoners become eligible for parole after serving two thirds of their sentences.The prisoners filed several documents tracing a lengthy paper trail struggle with authorities to obtain clarity under which law their parole should be considered.Haradoeb (52) was sentenced to 35 years in prison in February 2006 on murder and arson charges after he poured petrol over a fellow teacher and his girlfriend and set her alight.Regina Kastoor was 23 years old at the time, and had informed Haradoeb she was ending the relationship. He retaliated by torching her. She died ten days later in hospital. In recent years, Kastoor has urged Namibian men to accept the decisions of their partners and not to retaliate in violence.Haradoeb’s trial was delayed after he escaped from police custody in 2000. He was only rearrested five years later in South Africa, after several women had accused him of theft.Haradoeb alleges he is due to become eligible for parole next year, after serving 17-and-a-half years of his sentence.“This application is premised on the harm that I have suffered so far, the harm I continue to suffer and the further likely harm I might suffer”, he wrote.“If the authorities are not stopped alternatively corrected immediately, they will continue to unfairly and unjustifiable prolong the applicant’s incarceration far beyond the eligible parole date.”He argues that he and his co-applicants must immediately be placed on a pre-release programme “to avoid further and continued unwarranted deprivation to our liberty.”GruesomeShalimba, the second applicant, was sentenced to 36 years in July 2002, for a robbery he committed in April 2001.He argues that he qualified for parole in January this year after serving 18 years.“The application submits that the Correctional Service Act 9 of 2012 did not exist at the time when he regrettably committed the crime in April 2001, hence it cannot be used to consider him for parole.”Simon Josef Kankondi, who used a machete to hack his girlfriend to death and was sentenced to 35 years in September 2003, argues that he qualified for release after he had served 17 years and six months by March 2021.Anton Venasi was sentenced to 39 years for murder and robbery. He and two others were accused of killing 50-year-old Johannes Fransiscus Bergh at a smallholding on the farm Osona near Okahandja in October 1999.He insists he qualified for release in November 2021.David Tsamaseb was sentenced to 35 years in September 2001, after he and an accomplice pleaded guilty to stealing property worth N$115 000 during an armed robbery at a farm in March 2001.He argues that he should have been released on parole after serving 17-and-a-half years in September 2019.The case was scheduled to be argued whether it merits being heard as an urgent application before High Court judge Shafimana Ueitele on Wednesday. Court proceedings were halted to clarifyThe five prisoners have indicated they will represent themselves, while government and prison authorities were represented by Ndamonao Ilovu.Yesterday, Ueitele ordered that the Legal Aid Directorate must inform the court the applicants had submitted an application for legal assistance and what the process is to obtain legal assistance.

Murder, robbery convicts want early parole

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Namibian Sun 2026-07-15

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Murder, robbery convicts want early parole

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Namibian Sun 2026-07-15

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