Namibia: Media Freedom Trumps Secrecy

Namibia's national spy service cannot rely on a blanket cover of secrecy to avoid being subjected to judicial oversight, a High Court judge stated in a landmark judgement on the issues of media freedom, the public's right to be kept informed, the protection of national security, and the rule of law yesterday.

A stance that the actions of the Namibia Central Intelligence Service (NCIS) should not be subjected to any judicial oversight must be rejected, judge Harald Geier said in a judgement in which he dismissed an attempt by Namibia's government and the director general of the NCIS to prevent a weekly newspaper from publishing an article about the alleged misuse of government properties by former members of the spy service.

...

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.