Home affairs to pay N$66 000 for defective passport

The ministry of home affairs has agreed to pay a student who was arrested and detained in Thailand for having a defective Namibian passport in August 2018.

According to the settlement agreement filed yesterday in the High Court, the ministry has agreed to pay Michael Geiseb and his father Petrus Geiseb an amount of N$66 356.15.

The ministry will fork out N$20 000 for

Michael’s arrest and detention in Bangkok, Thailand on 10 August 2018. The ministry would also pay N$46 356.15 towards legal fees for services required while in Bangkok, airfare fees for Michael and his father, and a fine for overstaying in Bangkok.

The parties have also agreed for the payment to be made within 90 days.

In 2018, Michael, with the assistance of his father, sued the ministry of home affairs for N$270 000 after having been arrested and detained on suspicion of being in possession of a falsified travel document.

According to the particulars of claim, Michael was issued with a Namibian passport (P0720246) by home affairs, which was valid from 1 December 2016 to 30 November 2021.

He then travelled to Thailand for studies on 11 March 2018. On 10 August 2018, the authorities in Thailand detected that the passport was invalid in that the ghost image embedded in the passport, as a form of security, belonged to one Ndapandula

Aiges Fillip. Subsequently, Michael was arrested and detained on suspicion of being in possession of a falsified travel document.

He was also charged with having overstayed in that country.

His father, Petrus had to travel to Thailand to bail Michael out of police custody and bring him back to Namibia.

The ministry has since admitted liability and offered to compensate Michael and Petrus.