A group of farmers from Okakarara Constituency is demanding that the Magistrate's Court stop granting bail to stock theft suspects.

The farmers, under the banner of the Okakarara Residents Association Fighting for Development, claim repeat offenders set free on bail continue with the same criminal activities.

The fed-up farmers held a demonstration on Monday in front of the Okakarara Magistrate's Court, where the spokesperson, Mbimbi Kambaekua, said they are losing livestock to rustlers every other week.

"We residents and farmers in this constituency. The economies rely on livestock, which consists primarily of cattle, goats, and sheep. If these animals are stolen, it disturbs our means of survival. Master prosecutor, you will agree with us that almost no day passes by without your offices dealing with no less than one case of livestock theft. That in itself shows that our concern is valid and shows that stock theft is indeed rising at a very disturbing and alarming rate."

Okakarara Magistrates Court's public prosecutor, Olavi Nangolo, who received the petition, said stock theft suspects are innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.

"I would also like to add that just because an accused has been granted bail, that should not be viewed as an indication or determination of their guilt or otherwise because that process will come. The bail issue is just whether or not an accused should be released from custody until such a time as that matter is finalized."

The demonstrators' next stop was at the Okakarara Town Council, where they accused the institution of not consulting them when they installed the pre-paid water meters last year.

The prepaid water systems were installed to help mitigate the residents' unpaid rates and taxes, which stood at N$43 million in debt. 

"In this case, the project undertaken by the Okakarara Town Council is a major project, and the residents were not consulted. As residents standing here today, even if we have to be interviewed, no one will say, 'yes, I was consulted and informed as to the manner and implications coming along with the concerned prepared water systems and how it was to assist the residents'," said Sigfried Tjehiua, Chairman of the Okakarara Residents Association Fighting for Development.

The last stop was at the Okakarara Constituency Office to air their dissatisfaction with the Regional Council leadership's slow response to their grievances.

They vowed to continue with mass demonstrations in the town if their issues were not addressed.