Editorial: Home Affairs Minister’s Skewed Priorities

THE answers to the prevention of crime of whatever nature don’t lie only in the punitive legislative measures put in place by Government.

In fact, many of the problems we are experiencing in terms of criminal acts have less to do with deterrent sentences than they do with the manifestation of deep societal problems. In the wake of several horrific murders of women and weekly Police crime bulletins punctuated with reports of rapes of minors and other violent crimes, Home Affairs Minister Jerry Ekandjo tabled in Parliament the Motor Vehicle Theft Amendment and the Stock Theft Amendment Bills respectively and, in his motivation, argued for more severe sentences for these crimes because existing penalties were ‘not enough of a deterrent’.Without trying to diminish the seriousness of either of the abovementioned crimes i.e. stealing a vehicle or someone’s livestock, we are nevertheless astonished that the Minister appears to be dealing with the broad issue of crime in such a superficial manner that these are considered the priorities rather than the violent crime which characteristic of so many parts of the country at present.In some ways too, the Minister can be accused of watching over his own, and the interests of the wealthier elite in our society.Although he motivated that stock theft sometimes affected the poorest of the poor, it is more often a crime committed against people with plentiful resources.Likewise, it is the more affluent in our society who have vehicles, and especially the type of vehicles the syndicates want to get their hands on. The sentences he motivated indicate the serious light in which Government views stock and vehicle theft.For theft of a head of cattle valued at over N$500, a thief can receive a jail sentence of not less than 20 years.Likewise, for a first conviction for theft of a vehicle the culprit could receive a sentence of a minimum of 10 years, and a minimum of 15 for a second.It appears that Government, and the Home Affairs Minister in particular, is relying heavily on the assumption that criminals take into account possible punitive measures before they commit a crime! We seriously doubt that this is the case.Said the Minister with regard present legislation on stock and car theft: “The punitive measures in place are not deterrent enough to make it a life risk for criminals involved in the commission of such crimes”.He forgets that even with the stiffer sentences, the State still has to prove its case against the alleged criminal before the punishment in question can be meted out.Besides, the question of the escalation of crime cannot simply be dealt with in terms of harsher penalties.Certainly one does not want to make it easier for criminals to know that they can quite literally get away with murder, but we also need to dig deep to establish why it is that violent crime and rape, more importantly than cattle or motor vehicle theft, is becoming so prevalent in Namibia.Perhaps it eases the Minister’s mind to believe that the stock on his farm will be less vulnerable to theft once the new legislation goes through, but it is not going to make his wife or daughter any safer when they are out and about.Nor is it going to make all the victims of violent crime in Namibia any more secure.While we accept Government has to legislate against all crimes, whether they be small victimless offences or serious ones, we feel obliged to emphasise that the prevention of (in addition to deterrence of) crimes of violence and rape has to be the priority.In the wake of several horrific murders of women and weekly Police crime bulletins punctuated with reports of rapes of minors and other violent crimes, Home Affairs Minister Jerry Ekandjo tabled in Parliament the Motor Vehicle Theft Amendment and the Stock Theft Amendment Bills respectively and, in his motivation, argued for more severe sentences for these crimes because existing penalties were ‘not enough of a deterrent’.Without trying to diminish the seriousness of either of the abovementioned crimes i.e. stealing a vehicle or someone’s livestock, we are nevertheless astonished that the Minister appears to be dealing with the broad issue of crime in such a superficial manner that these are considered the priorities rather than the violent crime which characteristic of so many parts of the country at present.In some ways too, the Minister can be accused of watching over his own, and the interests of the wealthier elite in our society.Although he motivated that stock theft sometimes affected the poorest of the poor, it is more often a crime committed against people with plentiful resources.Likewise, it is the more affluent in our society who have vehicles, and especially the type of vehicles the syndicates want to get their hands on. The sentences he motivated indicate the serious light in which Government views stock and vehicle theft.For theft of a head of cattle valued at over N$500, a thief can receive a jail sentence of not less than 20 years.Likewise, for a first conviction for theft of a vehicle the culprit could receive a sentence of a minimum of 10 years, and a minimum of 15 for a second.It appears that Government, and the Home Affairs Minister in particular, is relying heavily on the assumption that criminals take into account possible punitive measures before they commit a crime! We seriously doubt that this is the case.Said the Minister with regard present legislation on stock and car theft: “The punitive measures in place are not deterrent enough to make it a life risk for criminals involved in the commission of such crimes”.He forgets that even with the stiffer sentences, the State still has to prove its case against the alleged criminal before the punishment in question can be meted out.Besides, the question of the escalation of crime cannot simply be dealt with in terms of harsher penalties.Certainly one does not want to make it easier for criminals to know that they can quite literally get away with murder, but we also need to dig deep to establish why it is that violent crime and rape, more importantly than cattle or motor vehicle theft, is becoming so prevalent in Namibia.Perhaps it eases the Minister’s mind to believe that the stock on his farm will be less vulnerable to theft once the new legislation goes through, but it is not going to make his wife or daughter any safer when they are out and about.Nor is it going to make all the victims of violent crime in Namibia any more secure.While we accept Government has to legislate against all crimes, whether they be small victimless offences or serious ones, we feel obliged to emphasise that the prevention of (in addition to deterrence of) crimes of violence and rape has to be the priority.