A transgender woman in Namibia has emerged victorious in her fight for justice after being beaten, kicked and verbally abused by the police. On Friday, the High Court awarded Mercedez von Cloete – who had sued the Minister of Safety and Security in early 2018 – N$50,000 (approximately R50,000) in damages.
In the early hours of 6 July 2017, von Cloete was unlawfully arrested and assaulted by a plain-clothes police officer named Constable Kavari outside a fast-food restaurant in Windhoek.
The constable was accused of throwing her into a police vehicle, punching and kicking her and insulting her with queerphobic slurs like “moffie” (“faggot”).