The Namibian Constitution entrenches fundamental rights and freedoms, and provides for their vertical and horizontal application in any criminal process. However, since Independence in 1990, Namibia has developed its own criminal jurisprudence. Criminal procedure and law are taking new shape. Namibian courts have pronounced on criminal issues, and legislation has been passed to keep up with the demands, aspirations, spirit, and vision of the Namibian Constitution and its people. CLEVER MAPAURE, NDJODI NDEUNYEMA, PILISANO MASAKE, FESTUS WEYULU and LOIDE SHAPARARA have written an invaluable book that deals with these developments. It explains the rights of individuals, the duties of law enforcement officers, and the procedures of the courts in criminal cases. The Law of Pre-Trial Criminal Procedure in Namibia introduces readers to the fundamental principles and values underlying Namibian criminal law, through a systematic examination of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977) as amended, which was originally passed by the legislature of South Africa, and still regulates criminal procedure in Namibia, the amendments to it since 1990, and relevant Namibian Case Law. The book captures and discusses the law relating to the pre-trial criminal process in Namibia in detail, from the roles of the prosecutor and the police, search, seizure and forfeiture, interrogation, notices and summons, arrest, court appearance, bail, criminal charges, disclosure, diminished capacity, right to assistance, to pleas and plea-bargaining.

This book reveals the oil that greases the wheels of one of Africa's best criminal justice systems. Principles of Namibian Criminal Law distils the major principles that help people answer this one big, life-defining question: Is the accused guilty? In 14 chapters, this book discusses principles that govern matters such as punishment, criminal liability, causation, unlawfulness, culpability, participation in crimes, and incomplete crimes. Largely inherited from South Africa, the principles of Namibian criminal law emanate mostly from common law and case law. Particularly, case law has been the channel through which lawyers in Namibia have, since Independence on 21 March 1990, molded their own criminal law doctrines. For that reason, this book heavily relies on the court cases that Namibian courts have forged since then. It showcases Namibia's South African heritage while giving pride of place to Namibia's homegrown jurisprudence - from the rules concerning corporate liability to the very definition of an 'accused'. Principles of Namibian Criminal Law will prove especially useful to law students who need to grasp the first principles of Namibian criminal law and to learn to think like lawyers, and to the seasoned practitioners (judges, attorneys, prosecutors, and police officers) who need to refresh their memories. The book should also serve the researchers and the comparatists looking for a window into how criminal justice actors think and resolve issues to make Namibia one of the continent's safest countries.