Presciption overruled in the Police Act
Any civil proceedings against the State or Police Officers acting in terms of the Police Act 19 of 1990 (“Police Act”), shall be instituted within 12 months after the incident. Only the Minister may waive compliance with the above requirement. The Act currently makes no provision for minor or insane persons.
In a Police brutality civil claim, our Chloe Brandt, successfully argued a Special Plea on behalf of the Third Plaintiff, who was a minor at that time. This case sets a precedent against the shortcomings of the Police Act, particularly with regard to Minors and insane persons under custodianship.
In the Judgment delivered on 14 June 2024, Justice Masuku found that in the event that Civil Proceedings are instituted against the State or Police Officers, and the Defendants have not brought evidence to show or suggest that their acts were carried out in pursuance of the Police Act, they may be viewed to have acted solely within the course and scope of their employment. The judgment is pertinent in that it serves as a judicial precedent that, if at the time the cause of action arose, the Plaintiff was a minor, the prescription period only starts running from the date on which such minor attains majority.
More on Prescription in our ProBono and more on the case here.
Meeting with African Centre for Governance
On the 20th of August 2024 the LAC Director, Toni Hancox, met with the African Centre for Governance. 
The Centre will be conducting election observations during the forthcoming elections and requested to meet and to discuss the current political environment as well as the socio-economic situation within Namibia.
NAMLEX has been updated to July 2024
LPFF has donated N$168,000 to assist with that
The amount will be used for updating the legal database of the LAC, which is made freely available for use by legal practitioners, the judiciary, the press, students and the general public. Expressing gratitude for the donation, Toni Hancox said that updating the database is vital to preserve the capability and understanding of all those who need to access and use the law. However she went on to say that as the legal environment is dynamic and new laws are enacted and regulations are amended, this places responsibility on the LAC to ensure that the database is current and information is kept up to date.
Detailed information on how to use the databases are here.
Pictured at the handover of the donation are our Director, Toni Hancox, Pius Iikwambi, member of the LPFF Board of Control, and Taimi Iileka-Amupanda, member of the LPFF Board of Control.
Namibia’s Fourth Sustainable Development Awards
is an initiative by the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF) and Sustainable Development Advisory Council (SDAC), held under the theme “Investing in our Planet” and focusing on engaging governments, institutions, businesses, and civil society to accelerate change toward a prosperous planet.
Mr Hans Christian Mahnke (the Author), a former consultant of the LAC, submitted our comic “Troubled Waters: coastal protection, communities, and constitutional commitments” to the competition in the category “Artist Action”. This category celebrates innovations and contributions made by artists in raising awareness and educating the public on environmental issues by promoting sustainable development through artwork.
The proceeds of this award are pledged to the Swakopmund Offices of NaDEET. More here and full story in The Namibian Newspaper.
The Human Rights Committee reviewed Namibia on 6th and 7th March 2024.
The Director was sponsored by the Centre for Civil and Political Rights to attend the presentation of Namibia’s report to the Human Rights Council under the Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, to which Namibia is a signatory.
The Attorney-General, Festus Mbandeka, presented the Government’s report to the committee. He was accompanied by a delegation of some 6 persons. The Director attended as one of the representatives of civil society and was invited to make a presentation to the Council on the priority issues of concern. This information was then used in the dialogue with government. The other representative from Namibia was the Director of Civil Society Information Centre Namibia(CIVIC+264). The CCPR is thanked for this opportunity.
Read the full report by the Human Rights Committee
“Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Namibia“.
