Misryoum reports that 399 trainees graduated from the Correctional Officers Basic Training, with a focus on discipline, safety, and human dignity.
A graduation theme of “Phoenix Rising from the Ashes” set the tone as 399 trainees marked the end of a basic training course for correctional officers.
Misryoum reports that the 32nd Basic Training Course Graduation Ceremony for Correctional Officers, Intake 1/2025, took place in Omaruru, where the Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration and Safety and Security, Lucia Iipumbu, tied the theme to resilience, discipline, and renewed purpose after hardship.
At the ceremony, Iipumbu told graduates they were leaving the college not as ordinary citizens in uniform, but as correctional officers entrusted with the authority of the State and the dignity of human life. She said the training experience should refine individuals rather than destroy them.
This matters because correctional work sits at the intersection of security and human rights, and how officers are trained and deployed shapes outcomes for institutions and communities.
Iipumbu also outlined what she described as the non-negotiable mandate of the Namibian Correctional Service: safe custody, maintaining order and security, rehabilitating offenders, and supporting lawful reintegration into society.. She warned that firmness and professional control must not slide into cruelty, humiliation, abuse, or mistreatment.
She specifically cautioned that allegations of mistreatment, whether involving sentenced offenders, trial-awaiting inmates, or even misconduct among officers, weaken the purpose of the service.. In her view, the true measure of an officer’s strength is the ability to maintain order without losing humanity.
Misryoum notes that during the 32nd intake, 420 recruits reported for the Basic Training Course on 1 August 2025, including recruits from Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Eswatini. The minister said 399 trainees comprising 259 males and 140 females were graduating for deployment.
A slightly detailed breakdown from Misryoum’s report indicated that 21 individuals did not complete the course.. Of these, some were transferred to another training track, others withdrew, several were dismissed for major contraventions of college orders, and a number were released due to medical conditions.. The minister also said discipline levels for this intake were lower than the previous intake, with 19 recruits failing to graduate compared with 14 earlier.
Despite the progress, Misryoum reports the minister pointed to operational and service challenges that the correctional service must address.. She mentioned difficulties attracting and retaining medical doctors and clinical psychologists, facility renovation needs, the absence of dedicated remand facilities, an overstretched vehicle fleet, and inadequate officer housing.
At the same time, she described achievements linked to capacity and rehabilitation, including enrolment in psychosocial, educational, and vocational programmes, expansion of technical training at a correctional facility, and continued food production initiatives.. The takeaway, Misryoum says, was that results should translate into safer facilities, improved institutional capacity, and better rehabilitation prospects, while discipline and leadership remain central when resources are limited.