Cybercrime Bill (Namibia)

Namibia's Cybercrime Bill is a long-gestating draft intended to criminalise computer-related offences and to provide procedural tools for investigating cyber-enabled crime. Developed with technical assistance from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and reviewed by the Council of Europe, it was originally paired with electronic-transactions provisions; those were enacted separately as the Electronic Transactions Act 4 of 2019 (which also repealed the Computer Evidence Act 32 of 1985), leaving cybercrime to a dedicated Bill. As at mid-2026 the Bill remains in draft. A final draft was circulated ahead of a validation workshop convened by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) in April 2026, but it had not been enacted or tabled for final passage. The draft provides procedural powers for searches, seizures and forfeiture, production orders, expedited preservation of data, interception of communications, and the use of remote forensic tools, alongside a catalogue of cyber-dependent and cyber-enabled offences. Civil-society commentators, including The Namibian and the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), have repeatedly flagged concerns about overbroad surveillance powers, vague offence definitions and inadequate procedural safeguards, warning of risks to privacy and free expression. For the ATLPF library this instrument is tagged Cybercrime and cross-referenced to Namibia's Data Protection Bill, which is advancing on a parallel track. Note for editors: no official government-published bill text was located, and the draft has circulated in successive versions; the Full Text URL is left blank and the entry is flagged for a sourcing update once the Bill is officially tabled or gazetted.

1. 1Creates computer-related criminal offences (cyber-dependent and cyber-enabled crimes) in a dedicated cybercrime statute, separate from the enacted Electronic Transactions Act 4 of 2019
2. 2Procedural powers: search, seizure and forfeiture; production orders; expedited preservation of data; interception of communications; use of remote forensic tools
3. 3Developed with ITU technical assistance and reviewed by the Council of Europe (Budapest Convention alignment)
4. 4Companion to Namibia's Data Protection Bill (parallel legislative track)
5. 5As at mid-2026 still in draft; final draft circulated for a MICT validation workshop (April 2026); not yet enacted
6. 6Criticised by civil society (The Namibian, APC) for broad surveillance powers and insufficient safeguards