Paralysed inmate wins right to medical release

A 50-year-old paralysed prison inmate who has been bedridden and suffering from bedsores due to inadequate medical care has won a High Court battle to have his medical condition considered as grounds for release from prison.

Judge Boas Usiku on Monday set aside a decision by the medical officer at Windhoek Correctional Facility, who had refused to recommend Khamastar Erwin Ndukireepo for release on medical grounds.

Ndukireepo is serving a 20-year prison sentence for murder, handed down in December 2020.

The court ruled that the correctional facility's medical officer relied on reasons "not supported by evidence" and that the decision to keep him incarcerated "lacks rationality".

The judge also found that Ndukireepo’s constitutional right to dignity had not been respected, particularly given evidence that he was being dressed and undressed in diapers in full view of other inmates and relied on fellow inmates for basic assistance.

“By insisting that the applicant remains incarcerated despite his present physical condition until future reassessment determines otherwise,” Usiku said, “cannot in my opinion be regarded as humane treatment consistent with respect for human dignity”.

Ndukireepo’s health deteriorated after an incident at Hardap Correctional Facility in February 2024. According to the judgment, he woke up the following day with severe lower-back pain and was unable to walk or pass urine or stool.

He was taken to hospital 21 days later and has remained bedridden two years later.

The court heard that Ndukireepo has also lost his ability to speak and cannot write, although he can still read and hear.

He is dependent on others for basic functions, including eating, bathing, dressing, using the toilet and changing his position in bed.

He was diagnosed with myeloradiculopathy, a condition affecting the spinal cord and spinal nerve roots, resulting in paralysis.

Specialists recommend discharge

Two medical specialists, Dr Ismael Katjitae and Dr Ndengu, examined him and recommended that he be released from prison into an appropriate care facility.

Dr Katjitae warned that Ndukireepo’s condition had deteriorated significantly and that he had developed pressure ulcers as a result of prolonged immobility and inadequate capacity for repositioning and nursing care.

He warned of the risk of infected pressure sores, septicaemia, malnutrition, dehydration, contractures and premature death if the situation continued.

Dr Ndengu similarly recommended medical discharge, saying Ndukireepo required long-term supportive care, regular repositioning, wound care, assistance with feeding and hygiene, and ongoing nursing supervision.

Despite this, the correctional facility’s medical officer refused to recommend his release in March this year.

The medical officer argued that Ndukireepo’s vital organs and overall physical condition had remained clinically stable for about a year and that his condition could be managed within the correctional health system.

Overruled

However, Judge Usiku found that decision could not stand.

The judge said the medical officer had failed to properly engage with the findings of the two specialists, particularly their evidence that Ndukireepo’s condition had progressively deteriorated and that he had developed pressure ulcers.

The judge questioned how the correctional facility could be regarded as capable of managing his condition when there was evidence of continued deterioration.

The medical officer’s decision was therefore reviewed and set aside.

The court did not order Ndukireepo’s immediate release.

Instead, the medical officer was ordered to recommend his release on medical grounds under section 109 of the Correctional Service Act within 10 court days.

The commissioner general of the Namibian Correctional Service and the officer in charge of Windhoek Correctional Facility were also ordered to pay Ndukireepo’s legal costs.

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