The law is an ass, but Namibians are confused too

The famous old saying that “the law is an ass” starts to make uncomfortable sense in Namibia when somebody can effectively pay for a crime twice, and everybody behaves as though the system is perfectly logical.

A woman accused of burning two people to death in Windhoek, including her former boyfriend, reportedly had her father pay about N$77 000 following a traditional court process.

Now she also faces the possibility of spending many years in prison if convicted in the formal courts.

The obvious legal response is that the state prosecutes murder on behalf of society and not families.

Traditional settlements do not erase criminal liability. Case closed, except it is not really closed.

If customary compensation carries no real meaning, then it becomes difficult to explain why families are expected to raise money after killings, why elders continue mediating between families and why traditional hearings still take place even before criminal trials are completed.

Nobody sells cattle, drains savings and gathers relatives simply for symbolism. That is where the contradiction begins.

Namibia often speaks proudly about respecting traditional authorities and customary law until something serious happens. The moment blood is spilt, the country suddenly develops institutional amnesia and pretends only the formal courts matter.

Yet ordinary people clearly do not see it that way.

In many communities, customary compensation is viewed as real accountability. Families often spend years recovering financially after these settlements. Parents carry humiliation publicly for crimes committed by their children. Relatives contribute money because refusing to participate can destroy relationships long after court cases end.

Then the formal legal system arrives and behaves as though none of that happened.

One system treats compensation as an important part of restoring peace between families and communities. The other treats it as something with little bearing on criminal liability. Yet both systems continue to operate side by side, often involving the same people, the same tragedy, and the same consequences. That is where the absurdity lies.

Namibia has effectively created an arrangement where families can be punished culturally, financially and socially before formal sentencing even begins.

Right now, customary justice seems to function as emotional debt collection while constitutional justice handles imprisonment.

The problem is that nobody has properly explained how the two are supposed to coexist. If customary compensation is merely cultural theatre, then the country should stop impoverishing already struggling families by imposing expectations that carry no legal weight.

But if it serves a meaningful purpose, whether reconciliation, accountability or social repair, then perhaps courts should openly acknowledge that reality during sentencing instead of pretending these processes occur in separate universes.

It is also important to consider that traditional compensation usually affects low-income families far more harshly than wealthy ones.

A rich family can absorb N$77 000 and continue with life as usual.

A low-income family may lose cattle, savings, fields and years of financial stability trying to satisfy customary obligations.

So while the law insists there is no “double punishment", ordinary people may understandably reach a different conclusion.

Namibia’s legal system makes sense inside courtrooms but often stops making sense the moment it encounters the realities of how communities actually live.

The country officially recognises traditional authorities, celebrates customary law and speaks warmly about cultural identity, yet behaves awkwardly whenever customary processes collide with constitutional justice.

Nobody wants murder to become negotiable through money. No serious society can allow that.

But neither can the country continue to pretend that these traditional settlements are meaningless when communities across Namibia continue to view them as serious obligations with real consequences.

At some point, Namibia must decide whether customary justice is part of the justice system or merely an expensive cultural side activity families perform before the “real” punishment begins.