🇳🇦 Namibia: Inmates expose shocking conditions inside police cells
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Trial-awaiting inmates at the Wanaheda Police Station's holding cells have raised concerns over what they call deplorable conditions in the cells, with no proper sanitation facilities.
One of the inmates (name withheld to protect him from victimization), said he has been in a holding cell since April - despite the cells being overcrowded.
"Our rights are being violated and we are dying here. There are a lot of things going on here the community does not know of," he said.
He said inmates are kept and fed in a room full of "garbage".
"I have been diagnosed with a depression disorder, and just two months ago I was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which I got from here," he claimed.
Iitembu, who is awaiting trial for cases of robbery and theft of a motor vehicle, said detainees are "as human as everybody else and deserve to live like humans, not animals".
"Since the first lockdown, there was never any awareness of the pandemic. We only got to learn about it through the newspapers," he said.
He claimed no sanitizers were made available since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in the country.
"I have never sanitized my hands throughout this whole pandemic," he said.
In addition to this, Iitembu said police officers at the station are corrupt.
"I got a phone through a police officer. Namibian officers are so corrupt, they will do anything for a dollar."
National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi yesterday said Covid-19 health protocols are maintained at holding cells, although it is a serious challenge.
"... efforts are being made to make sure the inmates do not spread nor contract the virus. Efforts such as the availability of washing basins, and washable or disposable masks are provided to inmates - even when they are taken to court. Some families bring their people masks and small sanitisers," Shikwambi said.
She said Wanaheda Police Station is one of the stations with no record of positive Covid-19 cases at its holding cells - unless not reported to the station's management.
"When new offenders are booked in they are isolated from the old inmates, and during booking in and out temperatures are taken so as to determine fever and further referrals if necessary. Additionally, inmates are educated on this aspect, and many are bringing their part by being safe and protective," she said.
ONE MEAL A DAY
Meanwhile, inmates at the Oshikango Police Station's holding cells in the Ohangwena region have also claimed poor treatment.
An inmate who contacted The Namibian this week said they are only provided one meal a day and are not allowed to buy food from the shop in the holding cells.
"The conditions are too tough. Inmates are eating one meal per day - porridge with sauce with no cooking oil. We are not allowed to buy food, even bread, from the shop," the inmate said.
He claimed 20 detainees in the holding cells are currently infected with the novel coronavirus, and they too are subjected to the alleged starvation.
Police regional commander for the Ohangwena region, commissioner Elizabeth Mukete-Sibolile, yesterday said the inmates' claims are unfounded as they are served three meals a day.
Mukete-Sibolile said the claims are a ploy by inmates to receive food from outside, which is used to smuggle illegal items into the holding cells.
Inmates have for the past few months not been receiving food from outside as visitations have been banned to curb potential exposure to Covid-19.
The revelations on the conditions of the holding cells come after ombudsman John Walters released a report lamenting the continued overcrowding and shortage of food in Namibian police holding cells, saying it was a violation of the inmates' rights by the government.
Walters, in the 2019 annual report, which paints a picture of filthy and deplorable police holding cells, said the holding cells are not fit for detaining humans and some of the kitchens at the holding cells were not fit for preparing food.
He said when the ombudsman team visited some holding cells, they were also informed about violations of human rights, amongst other concerns.
Source allafrica.com