10Aug
07Jul
The mission of the Legal Assistance Centre
Recently, some posts on social media have complained that the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) is not taking on some of the issues brought to it by members of the public. To clarify the situation, this column will explain the LAC’s mission, and what it can and cannot do. The origins and...
19May
Sex Offender Register needed?
A Sex Offender Register For Namibia? Right Idea, Wrong Solution In 2017, hundreds of people gathered outside a house in Katutura in reaction to reports that the occupants were abducting and dismembering children. According to news reports, police deployed 20 police vehicles and a helicopter, and ended up having to use...
17May
Right to Peaceful Protest
PRESS STATEMENT As a member of the Action Coalition, the Legal Assistance Centre wishes to acknowledge the statement published on 16 May 2022. The excessive use of force in police action can never be condoned in a democratic society. The Legal Assistance Centre records its concern with the actions...
07Apr
Divorce Bill Analysis
The Divorce Bill: What is good and what not? The latest draft of the Divorce Bill was recently circulated for public comment. Much of the Bill is a very welcome change to Namibia’s antiquated fault-based divorce law. The current outdated law requires a guilty spouse and an innocent spouse, and necessitates a...
05Apr
Urban Land Reform
What is Namibia doing about Urban Land Reform?
Background For the best part of the first two decades after Namibia’s independence, the Namibian government has focused on commercial agricultural land reform. The Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act was enacted in 1995, five years after Namibia gained independence. Against the political rhetoric that...
16Mar
Kashela Case Presentation
Following the October 2021 Stakeholder engagement breakfast meeting, the Land, Environment and Sustainable Development Department (LEAD) presented the same case to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources after being invited by Hon Tweya who could not attend the first meeting, to share the same discussion with...
14Mar
Bwabwata National Park – The Khwe must be heard
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs (PSCCLA) will undertake a fact-finding visit to Bwabwata National Park in Kavango East from 14 to 16 March 2022. This is in response to a petition submitted by the Mbukushu Traditional Authority during October last year. Among other things, the petition...
01Mar
Combating of Rape Amendment Bill
The Combating of Rape Amendment Bill 2022 was tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Justice on 22 February 2022. This Bill fine-tunes and strengthens the Combating of Rape Act. GR&AP assisted in the development of Namibia’s progressive rape legislation, the Combating of Rape Act 8 of 2000, which came into...
24Feb
Combating of Domestic Violence Amendment Bill
The Combating of Domestic Violence Amendment Bill was introduced in Parliament on 23 February 2022. You can find a copy of the bill here, and a PowerPoint presentation explaining the amendments to the left. We generally welcome the Bill, but were very concerned to see that it fails to address...
