San girls released from jail

THE High Court has ordered the immediate release of two San girls jailed for stealing food and has ordered an investigation into the case.

The Namibian carried a front-page story yesterday detailing how the two teenage girls from Tsumkwe ended up in the Grootfontein Police holding cells after they were sentenced to six months in prison without the option of a fine. The Registrar of the High and Supreme Court, EC Kastoor, informed The Namibian yesterday that Judge President Petrus Damaseb had ordered the immediate release of the girls shortly after the newspaper hit the streets.”Some irregularities were detected and we issued a warrant to liberate them pending the outcome of the investigation,” Kastoor said.The girls, aged 15 and 17, were found guilty of housebreaking and theft on December 1 last year and have been behind bars for the last two and half months.The girls, both first-time offenders, broke into a teacher’s house through a window, cooked food inside the house and were found while still sitting there eating the meal.Some residents at Tsumkwe were appalled that the Magistrate did not give the two girls the option of a fine and sent them straight to jail.Public Prosecutor Marius Adams earlier confirmed that the girls had not been given the option of a fine, but said this was done after input from the local social workers and after all the facts had been double-checked.Magistrate Andre le Roux said the information he received was that only one of the girls was in school and had failed her exams last year.However, sources argued that the fact that one failed or both were not in school at the time did not warrant a prison sentence without the option of a fine.Le Roux had told The Namibian that the girls had repeatedly failed to turn up for the court case and had to be rearrested before their conviction and sentencing.Sources claimed the investigating officer or his colleagues were responsible for transporting the girls from Tsumkwe to Grootfontein for the court case and it was not their fault that they failed to turn up for the case.”We are happy that the High Court has launched an investigation into the matter because we believe that these girls were unfairly treated because they do not know about their rights,” said one of the people who tipped The Namibian off about the case.They approached the newspaper after their efforts to get the girls released failed.The Registrar of the High and Supreme Court, EC Kastoor, informed The Namibian yesterday that Judge President Petrus Damaseb had ordered the immediate release of the girls shortly after the newspaper hit the streets.”Some irregularities were detected and we issued a warrant to liberate them pending the outcome of the investigation,” Kastoor said.The girls, aged 15 and 17, were found guilty of housebreaking and theft on December 1 last year and have been behind bars for the last two and half months.The girls, both first-time offenders, broke into a teacher’s house through a window, cooked food inside the house and were found while still sitting there eating the meal.Some residents at Tsumkwe were appalled that the Magistrate did not give the two girls the option of a fine and sent them straight to jail. Public Prosecutor Marius Adams earlier confirmed that the girls had not been given the option of a fine, but said this was done after input from the local social workers and after all the facts had been double-checked.Magistrate Andre le Roux said the information he received was that only one of the girls was in school and had failed her exams last year.However, sources argued that the fact that one failed or both were not in school at the time did not warrant a prison sentence without the option of a fine.Le Roux had told The Namibian that the girls had repeatedly failed to turn up for the court case and had to be rearrested before their conviction and sentencing.Sources claimed the investigating officer or his colleagues were responsible for transporting the girls from Tsumkwe to Grootfontein for the court case and it was not their fault that they failed to turn up for the case.”We are happy that the High Court has launched an investigation into the matter because we believe that these girls were unfairly treated because they do not know about their rights,” said one of the people who tipped The Namibian off about the case.They approached the newspaper after their efforts to get the girls released failed.