Amnesty International Report 2010 - Namibia
| Publisher | Amnesty International |
| Publication Date | 28 May 2010 |
| Cite as | Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2010 - Namibia, 28 May 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4c03a81050.html [accessed 25 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA
Head of state and government: Hifikepunye Pohamba
Death penalty: abolitionist for all crimes
Population: 2.2 million
Life expectancy: 60.4 years
Under-5 mortality (m/f): 58/45 per 1,000
Adult literacy: 88 per cent
Presidential and National Council elections were held in November amid reports of inter-party violence. A long-running treason trial continued with no sign of concluding.
Background
In the run-up to the presidential and National Council elections held on 27 and 28 November, members of the ruling South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) and opposition parties clashed. SWAPO members were accused of disrupting campaign meetings of other political parties.
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On 27 October, about 300 SWAPO supporters blocked supporters of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) from campaigning in Outapi, Omusati region. SWAPO activists claimed that RDP members had used provocative language when seeking to recruit supporters.
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On 8 November, RDP and SWAPO supporters threw stones at each other after SWAPO supporters confronted RDP activists who had arrived in Outapi to attend a rally. Three people were arrested during the clashes.
Caprivi treason trial
The treason trial of detainees arrested following the 1999 attacks by a secessionist group, the Caprivi Liberation Army, continued with no indication that it was near conclusion. Most of the 117 detainees spent their 10th year in custody. The trial started in 2004.
Discovery of mass graves
Mass graves were discovered in northern Namibia. Some of the bodies were suspected to be those of about 30 San-speaking men who allegedly disappeared from military custody in western Caprivi after they were detained on suspicion of being part of the 1999 secessionist attacks. The National Society for Human Rights published the names of some of the victims.
