A total of 184 Angolan nationals are currently held in correctional facilities in Namibia, while 107 inmates have applied to be transferred to Angola, of those who have applied, only 17 have national identification documents.

Namibian Correctional Service's Commissioner-General Raphael Hamunyela added that 73 inmates indicated they are not willing to be transferred, while four do not qualify as they are awaiting trial.

Hamunyela made the remarks in Windhoek during the establishment of the Namibia/Angola Joint Technical Team (JTT) tasked with verifying inmates claiming Angolan nationality who wish to serve the remainder of their sentence in Angola.

Hamunyela said the 184 Angolan nationals comprise 180 sentenced inmates and four trial-awaiting inmates. Of the total, 181 are males and three are females.

He said the inmates involved in the verification process are currently at the Windhoek Correctional Facility and the Windhoek Female Correctional Facility.

According to Hamunyela, offences committed by the Angolan nationals include stock theft (32), immigration offences (31), rape (29), escape (25), dealing or possession of drugs (21), housebreaking (19), assault (13), murder (11), offences related to nature conservation (9), theft (8), and possession of illicit goods (6).

He said Namibia began the transfer process after the Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Offenders or Persons Deprived of Liberty between Namibia and Angola entered into force in November 2022.

At that time, he said 98 Angolan nationals applied for transfer, but only 11 had the national identification documents required, while 87 did not.

Hamunyela said the matter was discussed during the Senior Officials Meeting of the inaugural session of the Angola/Namibia Bi-National Commission held in Luanda in March 2024, which led to the establishment of the joint verification exercise.

A 12-member Angolan delegation is visiting the correctional facility to commence the verification of Angolan nationals incarcerated in Namibia.