{"id":42073,"date":"2023-03-30T17:26:15","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T17:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia"},"modified":"2023-03-30T19:11:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T19:11:37","slug":"amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia","title":{"rendered":"Amnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>HUMAN rights organisation Amnesty International says Namibia’s police continue to use excessive force against protesters.<\/p>\n

In its 2022\/23 annual report, the international non-governmental organisation (NGO) which campaigns against human rights abuse, also says the country’s proposed cybercrime bill threatens to curtail the right to freedom of expression.<\/p>\n

The report refers to an incident in May 2022 when police officers \u201cused excessive force against peaceful protesters\u201d in Windhoek.<\/p>\n

The protest ensued after the Namibia Revenue Agency (Namra) destroyed what it said were counterfeit goods worth over N$5 million.<\/p>\n

Local traders, who mostly import goods from China, were protesting after the authorities destroyed what they said were counterfeit goods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd, injuring protesters. A Namibian Broadcasting Corporation journalist was injured in the leg by a rubber bullet,\u201d Amnesty International says in the report.<\/p>\n

The international human rights watchdog also raises concerns about the electronic transactions and cybercrime bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf enacted, it could curtail the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, and privacy. In particular, concerns were raised over provisions that would allow arbitrary secret search warrants, and would grant excessive powers to the minister of information and communication technology,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n

The report has been released at a time that the Namibian Police are being accused of using excessive force against protesters.<\/p>\n

The police in Windhoek broke up a protest against youth unemployment which coincided with 33rd anniversary of independence last week.<\/p>\n

The police have arrested activists Dimbulukeni Nauyoma and Michael Amushelelo as a result of the protest.<\/p>\n

An opposition member of parliament, Inna Hengari, was also arrested, but has been granted bail.<\/p>\n

‘RESPECT RULE OF LAW’<\/p>\n

National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi has dismissed concerns over police brutality.<\/p>\n

She says police officers cannot be expected to give in to unruliness and lawlessness.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, if there is anyone who feels that the police used excessive force against them, let them come forth and report so that their cases can be investigated,\u201d Shikwambi says.<\/p>\n

She says there is a need for the public to respect the rule of law, and there should be respect between the public and the police.<\/p>\n

The police broke up the protests after police chief inspector general Joseph Shikongo last week refused to sanction the protests, which coincided with Independence Day celebrations.<\/p>\n

Economic and Social Justice Trust researcher Rinaani Musutua agrees with observations made by Amnesty International.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is shameful to see that the Namibian Police continue to use excessive force on protesters as during the apartheid era. The ruling elite, which has replaced the colonial masters, continue with the same exploitative and abusive practices on fellow blacks,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Musutua is accusing the black ruling elite of serving their own and foreign multinational corporations’ interests. The report also raises concerns about gender-based violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) people.<\/p>\n

It says mining companies’ activities threatened to damage the environment and undermine the rights of indigenous peoples.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really don’t know what the fuss about homosexuality is. Aren’t homosexual people humans like us? They are, and their rights should be respected and protected by the Constitution,\u201d Musutua says.<\/p>\n

‘REPEAL OPPRESSIVE LAWS’<\/p>\n

National Unity Democratic Organisation parliamentarian Joseph Kauandenge yesterday in parliament called for the repeal of oppressive laws.<\/p>\n

He said it is surprising that \u201cwe have laws such as the 1989 Public Gatherings Proclamation still in our books in this day and age\u201d.<\/p>\n

Kauandenge said the law was used to put many in prison during the colonial period.<\/p>\n

He asked the minister of home affairs, immigration, safety and security, Albert Kawana, whether the proclamation on public gatherings was not in conflict with the Constitution, which recognises the right to protest.<\/p>\n

However, information and communication technology executive director, Audrin Mathe dismissed concerns regarding the electronic transactions and cybercrime bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlind belief in some NGOs is the greatest enemy of truth. The point that the bill regularises warrantless searches cannot get out of the starting block without a response.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe draft bill has not even been to parliament yet. And consultations are underway,\u201d Mathe said in reaction to the report.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. HUMAN rights organisation Amnesty International says Namibia’s police continue to use excessive force against protesters. In its 2022\/23 annual report, the international non-governmental organisation (NGO) which campaigns against human rights abuse, also says the country’s proposed cybercrime bill threatens to curtail the right to freedom of expression. The report refers to an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":42071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-42073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nAmnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"HUMAN rights organisation Amnesty International says Namibia's police continue to use excessive force against protesters ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Amnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"HUMAN rights organisation Amnesty International says Namibia's police continue to use excessive force against protesters ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-30T17:26:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-30T19:11:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1680180980.27.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Amnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-30T17:26:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-30T19:11:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia\"},\"wordCount\":708,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1680180980.27.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia\",\"name\":\"Amnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia - Namibia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1680180980.27.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-30T17:26:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-30T19:11:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"HUMAN rights organisation Amnesty International says Namibia's police continue to use excessive force against protesters ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1680180980.27.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1680180980.27.jpg\",\"width\":750,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"Amnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Amnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/\",\"name\":\"Namibia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Amnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia - Namibia","description":"HUMAN rights organisation Amnesty International says Namibia's police continue to use excessive force against protesters ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Amnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia","og_description":"HUMAN rights organisation Amnesty International says Namibia's police continue to use excessive force against protesters ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia","og_site_name":"Namibia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2023-03-30T17:26:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-30T19:11:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1680180980.27.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Amnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia","datePublished":"2023-03-30T17:26:15+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-30T19:11:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia"},"wordCount":708,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1680180980.27.jpg","keywords":["africa press","Africa Press-Namibia","namibia"],"articleSection":["all news","community"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia","name":"Amnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia - Namibia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1680180980.27.jpg","datePublished":"2023-03-30T17:26:15+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-30T19:11:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"HUMAN rights organisation Amnesty International says Namibia's police continue to use excessive force against protesters ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1680180980.27.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/03\/postQueueImg_1680180980.27.jpg","width":750,"height":500,"caption":"Amnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/amnesty-international-raises-concerns-about-police-brutality-in-namibia#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Amnesty International raises concerns about police brutality in Namibia"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/","name":"Namibia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}