NC proposes two changes to ‘Spy Bill’

ONLY the Judge President or another Judge designated by him should be able to issue an interception order against individuals and companies if the Communications Bill becomes law, the National Council has recommended.

Such an interception order must also only be made with very clear indication of who the applicant is, against whom, the type of communication that will be intercepted and through which telecommunication or postal service provider such interception will take place.The recommendations were part of those made by the National Council’s standing committee on foreign affairs, defence and security chaired by Swapo Chief Whip Jhonny Hakaye.The committee conducted a three-day hearing in Windhoek earlier this month to get input from different people and organisations on the Bill after the National Council decided to take it for public hearings.The committee proposed that Clause 70 (8), which deals with the privacy of individuals, be amended to allow that interception can only be done after an order by the Judge President or any other Judge as assigned by him.If changed as recommended by the committee, the Bill will be compliant with the provisions of the Namibian Constitution, especially Article 13 which deals with privacy. If not changed, the committee said ‘there is a high probability of the courts striking down this clause’.Some of those who made submissions at the hearings called on the standing committee to scrap Chapter six containing the interception clause from what has already become known as the ‘Spy Bill’.However, Swapo MP in the National Council Leevi Katoma said most countries have such acts and Namibia was no exception.’People who are security sensitive will agree that we need the law,’ he said. Katoma added that ‘there might be loopholes but the law can always be amended’.He was the only speaker who spoke on the report yesterday.Giving his response, Hakaye described the Communications Bill as ‘the best piece of legislation that Namibia is going to give to the nation and to the rest of the world’.’We call upon the nation not to be deceived by those who are against the law,’ he said before the report was adopted.Members of the National Council later met with staff from the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology to iron out details about the report.Two years ago Hakaye had said that the National Council (NC) ‘will never be prescribed to’ when it comes to issues of human rights after the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) called on him to withdraw a motion to regulate the media.Hakaye had tabled a motion to examine and review the status of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and lashed out at media houses, who he said gave critics of Government such as the NSHR’s Director Phil ya Nangoloh a platform.The following day, Misa Namibia issued a press statement in which it called on the NC to withdraw any part of the motion which calls for stricter laws to regulate the media, adding that it was shocked to learn of the idea.’They say they are shocked. Well I have to promise them that more shocks are to be provided in the future,’ Hakaye said.He accused The Namibian of using the SMS pages as its own parliament and said the pages promoted ‘hooliganism’.