Ganja Users of Namibia (GUN) has called for cool heads to prevail and for evidence-based cannabis law reform after protests broke out in Okahandja by parties opposing the granting of bail to four individuals charged in connection with a record N$52-million cannabis bust (N$1 = ZAR1).
In a media release issued on 30 July 2025 and citing recent protests, GUN called for a rational discussion around cannabis while alerting the public to the right to bail for suspects in terms of Section 60 of the Criminal Procedures Act. “We acknowledge the concerns of the community but firmly reject the fear-mongering tactics and misinformation that misrepresent cannabis as a dangerous threat,” GUN said in the statement signed by President Brian Jaftha and Secretary General Borro Ndungula.
The four suspects in the Hochfield case have been remanded in custody until 21 August. They are South African farm manager Armand Carel Schultz (27), farm owner David Strauss van der Linde (43), farm driver Johannes Kamati (61) and Jakob Ganai, arrested close to the farm with a large cannabis consignment that ultimately led to the discovery of a 1.55-hectare plantation.
The authorities have since seized farm Eendrag, linking it directly to an ongoing investigation into a broader cannabis dealing network. The Namibian reported that soon after the Okahandja bust, there was a cannabis shortage in Windhoek.
The GUN statement singles out traditional leader and activist Johannes Gaseb, who has been leading the protests, for spreading misinformation and “fear-mongering” by characterising cannabis as a societal evil. It cites research and data that among others show no causal link between cannabis use and increased likelihood of committing a crime.
Gasep collected 3 300 signatures for a petition opposing bail for the Okahandja accused and raising concerns about cannabis use fuelling crime in the community.
GUN’s statement attempted to address these concerns: “While some studies note a correlation between cannabis and crime, this is often due to factors like pre-existing mental health conditions, socioeconomic status, or the illegal market’s connection to crime.”
GUN’s intervention follows a survey which found that 42.3% of Namibians were in favour of adult cannabis use but that approval levels differed markedly depending with the variable under consideration.
The Afrobarometer Survey by Cirrus Survey Warehouse Namibia polled approval levels by region, ethnicity, age, level of education and sex (men vs women).
- In Caprivi in the Zambezi region, 82% of respondents were found to be in favour of adult cannabis use, making the area the most pro-cannabis of the country’s 14 administrative regions when the data is harmonised;
- Hardap had the highest approval levels at 69%, followed by //Kharas (68%) and Zambzei with 67%. Respondents had to state whether cannabis use was “always justified”, “sometimes justified” or “never justified”.
- However, in Ohangwena only 5% said adult cannabis use was a good thing. Ohangwena in the north is a major transit area for contraband from neighbouring Angola which it borders, with Ohangwena Police Commissioner Ottilie Kashuupulwa earlier this month reporting hundreds of arrests for smuggling of contraband, illicit substances such as cannabis included.
That cannabis formed part of the contraband flooding the area possibly had a bearing in its low approval by residents in terms of the survey’s findings. Okahandja (where the historic cannabis seizure was made in June) also lies to the north of the country.
Ironically, in Gaseb’s own Otjozondjupa region that encompasses Okahandja, 52% of respondents say adult cannabis use can be justified, a result which vindicates GUN’s assertions that some community leaders were imposing their will on the people when it comes to endorsing cannabis for medicinal, spiritual and other applications.
“GUN urges the Okahanja community to respect the judicial process and allow the courts to carry out their duties without undue pressure or interference,” states the 30 July 2025 GUN media release.
Of significance is that the survey reveals a correlation between levels of urbanisation and education when it comes to endorsing adult cannabis use with the result that the less urbanised the region (which frequently coincided with lower education levels) the less likely were inhabitants to approve of cannabis. It would also be worthwhile noting that chiefs and traditional leaders were mostly influential in the non-urban areas. In Windhoek, attitudes towards cannabis are known to be more relaxed, just as they are in the comparatively more urbanised Hardap region to the south.
After Caprivians, the Nama (69%) and Subia (63%) were the most approving of ethnic groups; in other findings, 40% of people aged between 18-25 said cannabis use can be justified, just behind their 26-35 peers (46%) while support dropped to 37% among 36-45 year-olds. Overall, men were found to be more supportive of cannabis use at 40%, compared to women (37%).
Meanwhile, judgement is set to be handed down in the Windhoek High Court on 12 August 2025 in an application by GUN President Jaftha seeking to declare the ban on cannabis unconstitutional.
