SECTOR 1 panellists that based on this clause, people who were seen as supporters of the 1994 secession attempt of the Caprivi Strip are not allowed on air. The Protection of Information Act of 1982 stipulates that a government official may not give any information to a journalist. This stipulation is contradictory to the access to information legislation that government is currently discussing and is a good example of a law that inhibits access to information, which may in turn inhibit freedom of expression. The Protection of Information Act of 1982 also seeks to prevent information in the public domain, which is considered secret by the state, from becoming public knowledge. In fact, this Act was used against The Patriot newspaper in a lawsuit brought against it by the Namibian Central Intelligence Service (NCIS) in 2018, in an attempt to stop the paper from publishing a story on properties purchased by the NCIS for recreational purposes which, in some instances, were registered in the names of individuals; as well as on a slush fund to which government was donating money for the benefit of state officials. ‘The Patriot won the first round of the case on the basis that it was absurd for the NCIS to claim it was a law unto itself and using the law to cover up its transgressions.’ Part 6 of the Communications Act of 2009 allows for the interception and monitoring of telecommunications (per Clause 70) and compels telecommunications service providers to gather the necessary identifying information from their customers: ‘in order to make it possible to intercept the telecommunications of that customer’ (Clause 73). While the Act states that the establishment of the interception centres contemplated by the Act are for the combating of crime and for national security, there is concern that much room is left for the abuse of this functionality. Importantly, there are no laws that keep journalists from doing their jobs, or from entering the journalistic profession. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: Score of previous years: 12 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NAMIBIA 2018 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓✓✓ ✓✓ ✓ 2.1 2005: n/a; 2007: n/a; 2009: n/a; 2011: n/a; 2015: 2.7