Tackle GBV as Pandemic

After a 25-year-old man burned to death his partner and her two children at Karibib on Sunday, a community member complained that police were fast to act on stock theft crimes but tardy on gender-based violence (GBV).

Simson Katamba’s remark was an understatement. The main problem is the lack of resolve with which Namibia’s authorities tackle GBV.
Barely 24 hours earlier, the police had been called to remove Mandela Afrikaner Mbaunguraije after Josephine Nauses (23) reported him for domestic violence.

Chief inspector Ileni Shapumba of the Erongo police was quoted in New Era as stating that officers “provided help as requested”, but could not arrest the culprit “if there’s no case opened”. Shapumba said “the family even intervened and wanted them to solve the problem”, ostensibly referring to the GBV issue being handled within the families.

Mbaunguraije broke into the house from which he had been forcibly removed the previous day and set it on fire, killing his daughter Loide Nauses (3) and his partner’s first-born, Regina Nauses (7). He held down Josephine Nauses (23) to make sure no one survived the inferno.  

Less than three months earlier, 26-year-old Lena Williams was stabbed to death at Usakos, about 30km from Karibib, days after seeking protection from her boyfriend. It is easy to focus on the police because they are often the last line of defence. However, the police must shoulder much of the blame because of not prioritising such cases. 

If anything, authorities higher up the chain should be blamed more than the despairing blue uniforms on the street. And we are not only referring to top police commanders.

Politicians, no less than presidents, ministers and party leaders, criss-cross the country promoting traditional initiation ceremonies like olufuko at which young girls are taught how to take care of the household by treating a husband well.

Initiation practices are often silent about equal rights and how women can escape violent and dysfunctional relationships.

In essence, traditional courts have been allowed to continue with outdated quasi-legal processes that reinforce male domination to the extent that even rape and abuse can be swept aside with the payment of cattle or money. 

Old African legal traditions of reparation have their place, but should be balanced with rooting out practices that subject women and children to men.
The government keeps holding conferences that propose solutions to GBV, but the cases increase unabatedly. 

Among others, the police should be empowered to at least hold potential perpetrators for 24 hours as a cooling-off period. It is not enough to say action can only be taken when charges are filed.

It is incumbent on those in authority to get serious about GBV once and for all. Only determined action can halt the GBV pandemic. This senseless violence and loss of life cannot be allowed to continue.