Jail has no facilities for inmates’ sex – Hamunyela

Namibia Correctional Service (NCS) Commissioner-General Raphael Hamunyela says the country’s jails do not have facilities where conjugal rights could be enjoyed by inmates and their spouses, after two incarcerated men dragged prison authorities to court to demand conjugal visits.Convicted American murderer Kevan Townsend and former magistrate Jaco Kennedy, who is awaiting trial, dragged NCS to court, demanding conjugal visits, among other things.Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, Hamunyela said there is no legal provision for conjugal visits to the country’s prisons, let alone facilities where any sexual activity may take place.He said the NCS strictly adheres to the law, and if one is passed to legalise conjugal visits, they will abide by it.“Although we don&#039;t have any provision of the law on that fact, we believe it is an individual’s right to approach the court and share [their] feelings. We are the implementers of the law, and we will respect the fact that we are all under the law, including those [ordered] by the court of law.”Rights violatedAccording to New Era, Townsend and Kennedy alleged that in 2021, they wrote a letter to Hamunyela for the activation of trial-awaiting privileges such as conjugal and private family visits, and the use of televisions and fans in cells, among other things, but their demands fell on deaf ears.They further claimed their rights were violated by correctional officials who removed printed semi-nude images from their possession.Hamunyela yesterday said: “Should the court or judiciary make such a law, then it is for us to approach the minister or the executive [to ask] for the budget to build the necessary facilities to accommodate the professional execution of that law”.Townsend is serving 29 years for the murder of Namibian André Heckmair in Windhoek on 7 January 2011. Kennedy is awaiting his fate for two separate cases of alleged rape.

Jail has no facilities for inmates’ sex – Hamunyela

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

Please login to leave a comment

Jail has no facilities for inmates’ sex – Hamunyela

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

Please login to leave a comment

Login