EDITORIAL: The costly criminalisation of dissent

The High Court's decision to award social activists Michael Amushelelo and Dimbulukeni Nauyoma compensation for their unlawful arrest, detention and prosecution is more than a legal victory for two individuals. It is a sobering reminder that democracy comes at a cost when those entrusted with protecting constitutional rights choose instead to suppress them.

The state could have avoided this embarrassment, this financial burden and this stain on Namibia's democratic credentials had it simply respected the constitutional right to peaceful assembly from the outset.

Activism is not a crime. It is an essential component of any healthy democratic society.

Throughout history, activists have been the conscience of nations. They have challenged injustice, exposed inequality and forced governments to confront uncomfortable truths. Whether one agrees with Amushelelo and Nauyoma's methods or personalities is beside the point. What matters is that they were exercising a constitutional right while advocating for a cause that affects hundreds of thousands of Namibians – unemployment.

Instead of engaging with the substance of their concerns, the authorities chose a path of confrontation. The result was an arrest, detention and prosecution that the courts have now found to have violated constitutional rights.

The arrests left a black mark on Namibia's reputation as a constitutional democracy. They pointed to a state that was uncomfortable with criticism and willing to deploy its coercive powers against dissenting voices. Now taxpayers are being handed the bill.

Taxpayers must now cover not only the government's legal expenses but also the legal costs of the successful litigants. On top of that come compensatory awards of N$300 000 to Amushelelo and N$80 000 to Nauyoma.

Too often, government officials make decisions that carry little personal consequence when they are later overturned by the courts. The public purse absorbs the damage. That cannot be sustainable.