MAG won’t spare the rod, or the noose

THE Monitor Action Group has released its 11-point ‘policy document’, promising to bring back the death penalty and corporal punishment if the party is voted into power.

Under the heading ‘Treat The Cause – Not The Result’ in a one-page leaflet, available in English, Afrikaans and German, MAG said the ‘right to life’ belongs to both the victim and the killer.The party said it will ‘bring back the death penalty through a competent court’.When Kosie Pretorius was still in the National Assembly, MAG had repeatedly pleaded with Government to consider corporal as well as capital punishment, saying they were responsible for the protection of the lives and property of its citizens.In guaranteeing the right to life, the Namibian Constitution does not provide for perpetrators of serious crimes to be sentenced to death for their actions.However, Pretorius told The Namibian that they interpret the right to life to such an extent that it also means that a killer who takes that right away from another person will face the same.He said the current education system confused children with a philosophy of life that differs from that in their homes and has taken away authority from teachers who cannot punish them as would a parent at home.’We will bring discipline, recognition of authority and civilised hidings back into our houses, schools, courts and traditional authorities,’ Pretorius said.Right groups such as the Legal Assistance Centre have said in the past that the death penalty has not been shown to deter criminal behaviour or reduce crime rates in other countries.They also argue that there is no proven method to ensure that innocent people would not be put to death at the hands of the State.The death penalty is outlawed by the Namibian Constitution through article six, which calls for respect and protection of the right to life. It also explicitly states that no court shall have the right to impose a death sentence on any person.Human rights groups claim that introducing the death penalty will also contravene Namibia’s regional and international human rights obligations.They say the death penalty can lead to state-sponsored killing of innocent people whom the courts find guilty on certain technicalities which can later be challenged and proven wrong.