The Namibia Correctional Service (NCS) has given managers until May 23rd to report the number of correctional officers with visible tattoos.
In an internal memo, NCS threatened that future potential candidates with visible tattoos would not be considered for employment.
In an interview with nbc Radio Current Affairs, Assistant Commissioner Salmi Hangula stated that the ministry is working to change the recruitment policy and the code of conduct to incorporate the tattoo clause.
"This decision was made by the senior management committee of the Namibian Correctional Service. This decision was made because correctional officers by profession are employed to take care of the offenders, and these people also have tattoos. How can you expect to rehabilitate offenders if you also have the very same tattoos? It doesn't present a very good image, and it also gives the impression that the correctional officer with those types of tattoos is part of the gang."
Hangula added that the move seeks to ensure that the ministry presents a professional and respectable image to the public.
"It is not that people are not allowed to have their tattoos. It's visible tattoos! The problem is that many people don't actually know what most tattoos mean; they only see something on the internet, something on a friend, or something on a colleague, and then they decide it's okay. I'm also getting that. Now that tattoos may be associated with a certain gang, you don't know. That's why we are working to change the criteria for employment."
The decision, however, sparked an online debate. Some argued that having a tattoo should not be used to disqualify or deny someone employment, while others are in support of NCS.
Those who are found to have violated the recruitment policy and code of conduct once the changes have been made could face disciplinary action.
The memo was released prematurely, and the public was not supposed to know about it yet.
The ministry will communicate further updates to the public once the process is complete, it says.