Majority of female offenders serving time for murder

By Finna Kahili via News on One 

Despite the relatively low population of female offenders at the Correctional facilities countrywide, a high number of them are serving time for murder, often involving killing their partner or children.

According to information provided in a recent interview by Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) Commissioner-General Raphael Hamunyela, there are currently about 120 females serving jail time compared to over 3000 men.

According to the information received from the officer in charge at the Windhoek female correctional facility Assistant Commissioner, Julia Nauvinga, a total of 40 female offenders are serving time for murder at the facility. 

Eighteen of these women are in for intimate partner killings and the reasons for these crimes vary from self-defence, anger, and a woman killing her man because of a love triangle. Information also indicated that 13 women are incarcerated for killing their children, citing reasons such as a misbehaving child, women angry at the child or the child’s father, and a woman who claimed to have heard voices instructing her to end her child’s life. 

Hamunyela explained that although the country has a low number of female offenders, they are in for a serious offence.

“Out of those female, the highest crime is murder. If you go to the Windhoek Correctional Facility, the great number you find there is murder. (women from) the southern part of the country (is) murdering their boyfriends or husbands, while( women from) the northernpart of the country mostly murder their children,” stated Hamunyela. 

In contrast, Hamunyela said men are mostly incarcerated for economic crimes, housebreaking, theft as well as stock theft. 

NCS has the capacity to house 5400 inmates countrywide, says Hamunyela. He said there are currently 4600 inmates currently incarcerated. He said the youngest offender is a 14-year-old boy who was sentenced to 24 months on 29 January this year for theft, housebreaking, and intent to steal. The oldest inmate is an 87-year-old man sentenced to 10 years in 2018.