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"As pressure mounts for the nation to debate a death penalty for serious crime, human rights organisations say that besides being out of line with the Constitution, they are strongly opposed to such suggestions. 
Both the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) and the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) said this week that capital punishment had not solved the problem of high rates of violent crime in countries where it is in force.
"We condemn it. We agree the society is sick, but the death penalty is not the answer," NSHR spokesperson Dorkas Nangolo-Phillemon said.
Added the LAC's Norman Tjombe:"A society so passionate about protecting its citizens should not stoop to the level of criminals by killing people [which is] exactly what we are trying to prevent. Revenge is not the answer. The answer lies in reducing violence, not causing more death."
Constitutionally, such a move cannot even be contemplated, as the right to life is entrenched in the Namibian Constitution. This means that it cannot be amended by parliament for purposes of diminishing or detracting from the fundamental rights, even if there is a national referendum calling for such an amendment."