Namibia does not yet have a legal framework to protect personal details such as full names, date of birth and personal contact details. In fact, many businesses and government departments are not even trained in what is considered personal information. Take for example the website of the Law Society of Namibia (LSN). On its “Find a Firm or Practitioner” page (https://lawsocietynamibia.org/find-a-firm-or-practitioner/), it shows public information in a browser window, namely Name, Surname, Designation and Industry. If, however you investigate the coding of the page, it will also give you the Full Names, Date of Birth, and Personal Cellular Number of all its members.
The ability to save information on a computer and share this electronically necessitates legislation to be promulgated that protects the abuse of this information. These laws are especially necessary in our Information and Communication enabled society where information is stored on electronic retrieval systems. The Namibian Constitution states in Article 13 Privacy: “(1) No persons shall be subject to interference with the privacy of their homes, correspondence or communications save as in accordance with law and as is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the protection of health or morals, for the prevention of disorder or crime or for the protection of the rights or freedoms of others.” The Constitution thus guarantees only “Physical Privacy”. The storage of personal and business information (“Informational Privacy”) must have legislation that will prevent misuse of this information. In addition, the individual in Namibia must be able to access any, and all, information that is stored by the state (public institutions). There are thus things that are needed to guarantee informational privacy: 1. Data Protection Act; 2. Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations; 3. Freedom of Access to Information Act The Namibia Consumer Protection Group (NCPG) once again calls on the broader society in Namibia to become aware of the need for data privacy and protection and encourages open discussion and what can be done. The NCPG will be preparing Public Facing Information Reports for our largest businesses and vulnerable person to encourage them to manage their data better. As for the members of the Law Society, you should expect correspondence from me regarding the data leaked as well as on any other public facing information you need to manage.
