The chilling effect of bail

Namibia is tired of violent crime. Almost on a daily basis we are confronted as a nation by one or other news story about children, women or men being targeted.
It is therefore not surprising when there is a public outcry following the release of a suspect or suspects on bail.
In some cases the community has not waited for the outcome of bail hearings to voice their growing discontent over alleged murderers and rapists being released by the courts, pending their trials.
Recently, the alleged murderer of 19-year-old Johannes Nakatana, who was shot dead after an altercation over a scratched car in Katutura, was denied bail after a series of protests by the victim's family, friends and former schoolmates.
Among the most gruesome cases in the media recently is one involving the murder of 30-year-old International University of Management (IUM) student and taxi driver Eliakim Iinane, who was first assaulted and then locked in his car boot, before the vehicle was set alight.
The gruesome murder took place in August last year and yesterday the three suspects were released on N$5 000 bail each.
Of course, it is not our intention to get into the legal merits of the successful bail application. This is best left to a capable magistrate. Yet, we want to raise a critical issue regarding the role courts must be seen to play in the administration of justice.
In a society plagued by violent crime, it should be up to the accused in a serious matter to prove that it is in the interest of justice that they be released on bail. What is just as critical is that society, on the basis of each individual case in which bail is decided, should be protected from violent suspects.
It is becoming increasingly more difficult for Namibian communities not to question bail decisions by our courts, when - for example - a suspect who allegedly slits the throat of his toddler daughter's mother at a birthday party in full view of all the guests, is released on bail.
As we have mentioned above, we are not questioning the legal aspects of these decisions, but the chilling effect of these rulings on the broader, law-abiding community.
Although it has been successfully argued that the denial of bail should be seen as a punitive act, society deserves to have its confidence restored in the justice system. This should include the community having a huge say in the granting of bail.