Sentenced individuals who serve their sentences in their home countries can be rehabilitated, resocialised and reintegrated into the community better than elsewhere.

This was said by deputy minister of home affairs, immigration, safety and security Lucia Witbooi on Tuesday during a National Assembly session.

The ministry urged the parliament to ratify a Southern African Development Community (SADC) protocol enabling sentenced offenders to serve prison terms in their home countries.

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The draft SADC Protocol on the Inter-State Transfer of Sentenced Offenders, which was approved at the SADC Summit in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, in August 2019, aims to facilitate the transfer of prisoners across borders to serve sentences in their countries of origin.

Namibia signed the protocol on 18 August 2019.

At the ministerial committee of the organ meeting in July 2024, the SADC secretariat reported that as of May 2024, 11 member states had signed the protocol, but only Mauritius had ratified it.

Witbooi said ratifying the protocol is not merely a matter of legal protocol, but also of compassion, rehabilitation, and social reintegration.

"Imprisonment in a foreign country, away from family and friends, may also be counterproductive as families are denied the opportunity to provide social support, which improves the likelihood of successful resettlement and reintegration," she said.

As of 17 February, Namibia has 465 foreign inmates.

Out of the these, 450 are from the SADC region, and 15 from beyond.

At the same time, 69 Namibian citizens are serving sentences in various countries across the SADC region.

"By allowing foreign inmates to return to their home countries, we can ease overcrowding in some of our correctional facilities and also save the government funds that can be used by these offenders, as well as foster goodwill among our neighboring nations," Witbooi said.