"Every child failed by the system is a scar on Namibia's conscience."
For years, the signs have been staring us in the face. I raised the alarm. Others did too. Yet here we are, mourning fresh graves in Okahandja, paying the price of a country that listens only after the blood has already been spilled.
This is not just tragedy. It is failure. It is systemic neglect wearing the mask of sadness. A National Child Safeguarding Review is not a nice-to-have. It is a moral emergency.
No child should have to rely on luck to survive in their own country. We must stop pretending that this is normal. We must stop moving on after the headlines fade. I demand action. And so should every Namibian.
A Warning That Went Unheeded
On 5 September 2023, I publicly warned through my article "An Urgent Call for a National Child Safeguarding Review in Namibia" that the cracks in our child protection systems would cost lives. We are now living that cost. What we see unfolding is not an unforeseen tragedy; it is the direct consequence of a national failure to implement the protections we already have in law.
The Child Care and Protection Act
Since 2015, Namibia has had the Child Care and Protection Act (Act 3 of 2015), a progressive, rights-based legal framework designed to uphold the best interests of every child. It promises protection, prevention, and accountability. Yet, nearly a decade later, those promises remain largely unfulfilled.
Our system, on paper strong, remains dangerously weak in practice. The deaths of children are not isolated. They are evidence of systemic neglect, of a society that responds with outrage only after young lives have been lost.
What Must Happen Now
Establish an Independent Child Protection Oversight Body
Empowered by law to monitor, audit, and publicly report on the system's performance.
Annual Public Accountability Reports
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare must commit to reports that move beyond activity lists to measurable enforcement outcomes.
Fully Resourced Child Protection Units
Every region must have fully functional Child Protection Units within the police service, as the Act demands.
Emergency National Audit
Immediately review known cases of child abuse, neglect, and systemic failures.
Clear National Hotline
With robust whistleblower protections to ensure safe reporting, in partnership with LifeLine/ChildLine Namibia.
Shift to Constitutional Duty
Child protection is not goodwill — it is a constitutional and legal duty.
"The time for urgent, courageous oversight and systemic change is now."
— Steven Harageib, 26 April 2025
