Namibia in denial about prison sex

JEMIMA BEUKES

Namibia must acknowledge that sex is taking place in prisons and amend the old apartheid sodomy law in order to allow correctional authorities to distribute condoms in the country’s prisons.

This was the plea of health minister Bernard Haufiku, who said he was prepared to help safety and security minister Charles Namoloh to prepare and table a law to address the issue.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ''UNAIDS Get on the Fast-Track: The Life Cycle Approach to HIV'' launch in Windhoek yesterday, Haufiku emphasised that HIV transmission in Namibian prisons was a reality and remained a grave concern.

The report states that for men who have sex with men, new infections rose by about 12% from 2010 to an estimated 235 000 new infections in 2015.

According to Haufiku Namibia can no longer be in denial about what is happening in its prisons.

“We want to end the HIV epidemic; there is no doubt that there is transmission going on there. And the danger there is that these people are incarcerated and one day they will be out of prison and integrated back into their communities and it will be a problem if we do not arrest the problem there,” he urged.

In Namibia sodomy is considered a punishable crime under the Combating of Immoral Practices Act 21 of 1980, but is a common-law crime under the Roman-Dutch legal system that the country inherited at independence. The courts have not yet declared the Act or the section on sodomy unconstitutional.

In August this year, justice minister Albert Kawana said there was no way same-sex marriages could be allowed based on Article 14 (1) of the Namibian Constitution. The article stipulates that “men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, religion, creed or social or economic status, shall have the right to marry and to find a family.”

Ombudsman John Walters said he hoped the government would endorse Haufiku’s stance, distribute condoms in prison and decriminalise sodomy.

“This is the most welcome statement from a government officer and I am happy that I am not a lone voice. If people want to engage in sexual activity let it be their choice, but let us at least give them protection,” said Walters.

UNAIDS country coordinator Dr Tharcisse Barihuta said for the country to end Aids as a public threat, it will have to make sure every person, including those in prisons, has access to testing facilities and treatment.

A civil society report on Namibia’s compliance with the UN Convention Against Torture with regard to the rights of sexual minorities also calls on the Namibian government to abolish the common-law crime of sodomy.

The report states that the government has continued to deny access to condoms in prisons for “fear of promoting immoral practices” like sodomy.

The report that was reviewed for the 59th session of the Committee Against Torture states that transgender women are often placed in men’s jail cells, which puts them at a high risk of sexual assault.

The civil society report also states that medical personnel are understaffed in prisons, resulting in medical assistance not being consistently available within the facilities on a 24-hour basis.

Attempts to obtain comment from the minister of safety and security, Charles Namoloh, failed.