Participants at the Cybercrime Bill consultation at Rundu have called for stiffer sentences for cybercrime offenders.
The consultations on the draft Bill are being conducted by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT).
The consultations were aimed at soliciting inputs on the Bill, pointing out real cybercrime experienced on the ground, identifying gaps and ensuring a safer, effective and inclusive law for all Namibians.
Fillemon Johanness is MICT's deputy director for ICT Infrastructure Development.
"We gauged a lot of concerns from the law enforcement sector on what challenges them in most of their investigating processes. We have noted the delays in the different processes and dependency in various organisations, especially for their investigations. They mentioned banks providing information for phone-based theft and for financial crime investigation, as well as access to materials that can be used for evidence during their investigation, such as footage and images from private CCTV cameras and all that."
Johannes further stressed that the Cybercrime Bill will provide confidence and trust to and attract investors.
The MICT team spoke to some participants.
" I think it is the government's high time now; if money has been lost, these people must be held accountable because if the money is banked with them, there is no one else who can get back this money to the people, and also we, the community, must be aware not to give our personal information because it is yours personally. You can't give it to anyone; instead of being given to a person face-to-face, it's also avoided online."
" I think with this bill, I will be very nice because it will protect the nation at large, regardless of age; everybody will be protected if it gets implemented with the right laws."
"I spoke about the digital skills gap because this is one of the major problems we have, especially in Namibian schools. A lack of, you know, digital knowledge and everything. how it affects the people, like people like me who are currently in grade 11 in AS, and you are leaving a school without computer literacy, and how it affects you at the varsity, and how this actually exposes a lot of young people to cybercrime."
Final written submissions can be forwarded to the consultationon@mict.com.na on or before the 10th of February 2026 to the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.