The first exchange of sentenced inmates between Namibia and Zambia took place at Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi Region.

This is part of the resolution of the Namibia/Zambia joint Permanent Commission on Defense and Security to facilitate the transfer of sentenced offenders who indicated a willingness to serve the remainder of their sentences in their home countries.

15 Zambian and six Namibian convicts sentenced to prison terms were transferred during the ceremony to serve the remainder of their sentences in their countries of origin.

"One of the reasons why there is a high number of recidivism in prisons is because of the unfavorable social environment for the inmates, where at times they are unable to trace any of their family members or, if they did, they are not accepted as part of their families. However, programs such as the one we are witnessing today contribute greatly to the promotion of family ties; in other words, once prisoners serve their sentences in their homelands, it will be easy to link them to their relatives, and they will not have much trouble once they are discharged from prison," said Jacob Mwiimbu, Zambia's Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security.

On his part, the Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security, Dr. Albert Kawana, noted that more sentenced Zambian nationals have been exchanged, but some requirements were not met by some.

"79 individuals have applied for a transfer to Zambia, but only 15 have national documents, and all the applications of the 15 offenders have been approved. The applications for the 64 inmates could not be processed because they did not produce national documents such as Zambian identification cards, a valid Zambian passport, a certificate of naturalization, or any other document that is categorized as a valid document to prove Zambian citizenship or nationality."