Bail system needs review
The minister of environment and tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, has called for a review of the granting of bail by Namibian courts.
This follows the granting of bail to Frabianus Endjala, who stands accused of the attempted robbery and attack on German tourists on Windhoek's Western Bypass Road on 10 August. It later emerged that Endjala was out on bail in a similar case.
Shifeta, a trained lawyer, urged law enforcement agencies to be vigilant and proactive, and not to show mercy to suspects, in an effort to discourage attacks on foreign visitors.
Justice minister Albert Kawana, although reluctant to comment on the specific case, said Namibia should implement a computerised case management system.
He said he had called for such a system for a long time but there simply was no money for it.
According to Kawana the implementation of this system would do away with the “missing docket” problem that is haunting Namibia's manual legal system.
“This case will give the presiding judge or magistrate the history of the suspect appearing before court within a split second. It will be very useful in the sentencing of such a person because the judge will be able to take into account the previous and pending cases of a suspect. But as it is now, a judge in Gobabis and in Windhoek will not know what happened in Walvis Bay,” Kawana stated.
He stressed that no judge or magistrate would ever knowingly grant bail to a repeat offender.
JEMIMA BEUKES
This follows the granting of bail to Frabianus Endjala, who stands accused of the attempted robbery and attack on German tourists on Windhoek's Western Bypass Road on 10 August. It later emerged that Endjala was out on bail in a similar case.
Shifeta, a trained lawyer, urged law enforcement agencies to be vigilant and proactive, and not to show mercy to suspects, in an effort to discourage attacks on foreign visitors.
Justice minister Albert Kawana, although reluctant to comment on the specific case, said Namibia should implement a computerised case management system.
He said he had called for such a system for a long time but there simply was no money for it.
According to Kawana the implementation of this system would do away with the “missing docket” problem that is haunting Namibia's manual legal system.
“This case will give the presiding judge or magistrate the history of the suspect appearing before court within a split second. It will be very useful in the sentencing of such a person because the judge will be able to take into account the previous and pending cases of a suspect. But as it is now, a judge in Gobabis and in Windhoek will not know what happened in Walvis Bay,” Kawana stated.
He stressed that no judge or magistrate would ever knowingly grant bail to a repeat offender.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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