Namibian Police Preservation of Internal Security: Lesson from other Countries Constitutions

Abstract

Constitutions are considered essential pieces of legislation; without them, insecurity would likely be more widespread globally. They define roles, set permissible boundaries, and establish when obligations should be fulfilled, thus providing a framework for stability and security. The study compared the Namibian Police Force’s obligation to preserve internal security with Brazil, the Philippines, Scotland, Kenya, Tunisia, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique by analysing the constitutional mandates of the police officers. The study analysis showed that there are critical similarities and differences in the constitutional police mandate of the countries studied. The study adopted a desktop literature review approach to gather and analyse existing literature on the Constitution provisions. The analysis indicates that in Ghana, South Africa and Namibia, the Constitutions do not give provisions for other stakeholders to be involved in preserving internal security but the police alone. In Brazil, Philippines, Scotland, Kenya, Zambia and Mozambique’s Constitutions mandate either the armed forces or civilian components to aid the national police in preserving internal security. Although Namibia’s Constitution does not formally permit stakeholder involvement in internal security preservation, the military remains consistently engaged in this role due to internal security challenges that cannot be addressed by the police alone. Therefore, the study recommends that the Namibian Constitution be amended to legitimise other stakeholders’ involvement in preserving internal security. The study contributes to the knowledge with a special focus on how the Constitution contributes to effective or ineffective police duties in preserving internal security. Keywords: Constitution, Preservation, Internal Security, Obligation, Namibian Police Force