Prisoners get court order against study restrictions

Eighteen sentenced prisoners being detained at Windhoek Correctional Facility have won a case in which they sued the prison authorities about restrictions placed on their study activities in the facility.

In an order issued in the Windhoek High Court yesterday, acting judge David Mangota set aside two senior correctional officers’ decision to reduce the hours that the 18 prisoners are allowed to do their online and distance studies in an educational laboratory at Windhoek Correctional Facility.

The prisoners’ study time was reduced from six hours to two hours a day.

Mangota also set aside a decision to prohibit the 18 prisoners from mixing with each other for educational purposes while they have different security classifications in the correctional facility.

In his judgement, Mangota recounted that the court was informed that the head of educational services at Windhoek Correctional Facility, senior superintendent Elisia Haiduwa, in January decided to implement directives of the Namibian Correctional Service’s commissioner general, which resulted in a restriction of inmates’ access to an educational laboratory, where they are able to do online studies.

According to Haiduwa, inmates of different security classifications are not allowed to mix for educational purposes.

Haiduwa informed the court she regulated access to the educational laboratory, which inmates may use for six hours a day, so that each of the three groups of inmates with difference security classifications would have access to the study facility for two hours a day, Mangota recounted.

He also noted that according to Haiduwa, she assumed duties at Windhoek Correctional Facility last May.

For about seven months after that, Haiduwa allowed the 18 prisoners, who are from different levels of security classification, to mix in the facility’s educational laboratory for the purposes of pursuing their studies online.

The same practice had also been followed by Haiduwa’s predecessors and in respect of other prisoners who pursued studies prior to the 18 applicants in the case before him, Mangota said.

“There does not appear to have been any challenges which visited the facility during the times that the stated arrangement and manner of studying remained in place,” he observed.

Haiduwa did not tell the court for what reason she was prompted to implement the commissioner general’s directives in the manner that she did, Mangota said.

He added that in his view Haiduwa “misconstrued the directives of the commissioner general in a manner which is difficult to comprehend”.

The language in the directives is “clear and unambiguous”, Mangota stated: “They prohibit mixing of offenders who are from different levels of security classification in their dwelling quarters only.

They do not prohibit mixing of inmates who are pursuing their studies in the facility’s laboratory, as [Haiduwa] seems to suggest.”

The Namibian Correctional Service has a policy of improving offenders’ education as part of its rehabilitation programmes, but Haiduwa “is making every move to pour cold water” on this “very positive, as well as progressive effort by her superiors”, Mangota commented.

The 18 prisoners involved in the matter are Ujama Tjingee, who is the first applicant, Weldrid Langerman, who presented oral arguments to the court on behalf of the group, Kleopas Kapalanga, Dumingu da Costa, Nico Josea, Rodney Shaningua, Lazarus Awaseb, Kevan Townsend, Rachimo Haradoeb, Richard Hange, Kassian Mbathera, Licius Hindjou, Set Awaseb, Carl Cupido, Heinrich Gomagab, Geoffrey Limbo, Manga Challo and Simon Tjooya.

Government lawyer Gerde Karlos represented the prison authorities and Haiduwa.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.