• By Patience Makwele

As the world increasingly gravitates towards a data driven future, Namibia is being urged to confront its legal and ethical shortcomings in the digital space. Last week, a one-day workshop on data protection and privacy was held on Thursday at the Mercure Hotel in Windhoek. The workshop brought together panelists, experts, and technologists to address the country’s growing digital rights challenges.

Organized by the Collabora-tion on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), in partnership with NamTshuwe Digital, the Namibia Media Trust (NMT), and the Na- mibia Internet Governance Forum (NamIGF), the forum served as a platform for assessing the state of privacy, surveillance, and data sovereignty in Namibia.

Although Namibia holds a strong rule over the right to privacy under Article 13 of its Constitution and has adopted a national cybersecurity strategy, it lacks a dedicated Data Protection Act. This legislative gap leaves citizens vulnerable to data misuse and surveillance, especially as technologies like biometric registration and interception systems become more widespread.

“We are fortunate to have a truly multi-stakeholder model that includes civil society, academia, entrepreneurs, and government,” said Lizette Ferris, events facilitator and panelist, and Deputy  Chairperson of NamIGF. “Our
forums are a space to engage with both local and global digital governance trends and to push for inclusive digital policies.”

She pointed out the country’s need for laws that match today’s digital world. “We are operating in a legal vacuum that leaves citizens exposed,” she stressed. 

“With surveillance tools and digital IDs expanding, we urgently need laws that match the realities of today’s digital world.” Among the panelists was Zambian digital rights specialist Emsie Erastus, who pointed out the risks posed by so-called “smart city” initiatives. “These projects, often marketed as innovations, are being used globally and increasingly in Africa as tools for mass surveillance,” she noted.

Erastus pointed to facial recognition-enabled CCTV, centralized ID databases, and biometric tracking as examples of technologies that governments may exploit to monitor citizens. “We are seeing a disturbing trend where states are constructing panopticon-like systems under the guise of development,” she said.

She also criticized the lack of scrutiny applied to technologies introduced by foreign entities. “Africa is adopting technologies pushed by global institutions without questioning their relevance or risks. We are behind the curve in regulating them.” The forum also examined data infrastructure and sovereignty.

Erastus warned that major African data centers are increasingly owned by multinational corporations like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. “We must ask: where is our data being stored, and who owns the servers? Data governance isn’t just about protection; it’s about control and ownership,” she said. Officials from the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), which holds a permanent seat on the NamIGF board, confirmed that finalizing the Data Protection and Cybercrime Bills remains a priority for the current fiscal year, but acknoledged some challenges ahead.

One speaker expressed concern by revealing that the 2023 draft of the Data Protection Bill had removed\ the entire section on data subjects’ rights. “It is critical that the next version restores and strengthens these rights,” urging civil society to stay engaged during upcoming public consultations.