The inmates filed an urgent application against the minister of home affairs, immigration, safety and security, Albert Kawana, Namibian Correctional Service commissioner general Raphael Hamunyela and three NCS officials at the Windhoek High Court in March in an attempt to have their access to the internet and online study facilities restored.
They have also stated that their only means of studying is online, and that it is essential that they have access to the internet and computer devices needed to access the internet. Shaningua also alleged that the prison authorities' decision to restrict his and the other applicants' access to the internet was a reaction to demands made by detained accused in the Fishrot fraud, corruption and racketeering case, who he said have threatened to take legal action if they were not allowed to have Wi-Fi devices and use Gmail addresses.
Hamunyela said in an answering affidavit that the use of pocket Wi-Fi devices was allowed temporarily in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which restricted movement and face-to-face teaching.