“It’s part of the job. Someone has to do it,” said Filistas Shikerete, Namibia’s Deputy Prosecutor General.
Shikerete was referring to the threats she had encountered in her 16 years of work prosecuting cases of human trafficking and migrant smuggling and confronting transnational criminal networks. Despite the risks, her determination to seek justice remains unwavering.
“These syndicates are ahead of us. So, when you are a prosecutor, you know it will not be easy, and you know what you are signing up for.”
Today, Shikerete leads Namibia’s High Court’s specialized unit dedicated to combatting these crimes. This is her story.
“I ended up working on trafficking and smuggling because of the passion I had – the realization that I can make a difference for others.”
This realization came during a trial early in Shikerete’s career, which involved rape and murder. Working closely with the victim’s grieving family, she saw how the conviction of the perpetrator brought them a sense of closure and peace of mind.
“The words they said to me stuck with me for life. They referred to our unit as angels on Earth.”
This marked the beginning of a long and arduous journey full of complex crimes, but also professional fulfilment of bringing culprits to justice.
“You can handle these crimes for years, but one day, a case hits you so hard.”
Shikerete recounted prosecuting a migrant smuggler, a woman from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2018-2019.
The woman settled down in Namibia and soon found a job as an occasional court interpreter, which enabled her to befriend police officers and people from the local community and establish herself as a trusted figure.
“Everybody knew who she was, and they just adored her.”
Before long, the woman was leveraging this trust to run a migrant smuggling ring, deceiving desperate individuals from the DRC with promises of a better life abroad, including in Canada.
The smuggler even claimed to work for the United Nations. “She would send them pictures of her posing between police officers at court, so they trusted her.”
One witness in the smuggler’s case described enduring brutal violence by rebels in the DRC before seeking refuge through the smuggling network: eight months pregnant, she was raped and stabbed in the stomach.
Others experienced similar atrocities. Some of the migrants sold their last possessions to pay for the journey to Namibia, only to find that the voyage to Canada would never materialize. The smuggler denied receiving any money.
The police initially hesitated to investigate because of the woman’s respected status. The witnesses were terrified of her, convinced that she was a powerful person.
These beliefs were reinforced after several people, including two witnesses and the wife of the investigating officer, died of natural causes during the trial. But people thought the woman’s criminal organization was killing off the witnesses.
“She once remarked in court that anyone testifying against her would die one by one.”
The smuggler was eventually convicted, but the emotional toll on Shikerete remained.
“During the trial, I received threats.”
One day, the police discovered a petrol-soaked cloth near the prosecutor’s car tyres. Security was increased, but Shikerete did not feel safe. She had to use her family and relatives’ cars, stay in their homes for several weeks and change her route to work every day.
“I had nightmares. I dreamt of my relatives being attacked.” Even after the smuggler’s sentencing, Shikerete remained wary of potential retaliation, as this was not the first time she was threatened.
In 2015, during another case, criminals had plotted to steal Shikerete’s case files and set her office on fire using a petrol bomb.
That day, they failed to get the documents and mistakenly burned down the wrong office. No one was hurt and the attackers were arrested. But the incident was a disturbing reminder of the dangers faced by prosecutors.
“Trafficking victims and smuggled migrants are not everyday victims. In the worst cases, these people are truly broken, shattered, destroyed,” Shikerete explained.
“What is significant about prosecuting human trafficking and migrant smuggling is that you step in as the voice for the voiceless, helping them regain what has been taken from them.”
Prosecutors like Shikerete work beyond the courtroom, collaborating with police, social workers, and other relevant actors to support victims, defend their rights and prevent re-traumatization.
“As a prosecutor, you are in such a powerful position. You can have a big impact if you just make use of that platform that you have been given.”
“When you deal with these crimes daily, they can become routine. But we must remind ourselves that it’s not just another case – it’s someone’s life, dignity and future.”
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) trains and mentors criminal justice professionals around the world, including prosecutors like Shikerete, to investigate, prosecute and convict traffickers, while supporting victims.
UNODC also helps them to cooperate and form networks to enhance their anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling responses.
Speaking about UNODC’s efforts, Shikerete noted that “training and capacity-building are particularly essential. Prosecutors must learn how to support victims and avoid their re-traumatization, but also how to deal with the psychological strain themselves.”
Filistas Shikerete was one of the participants of the first UNODC International Forum of Prosecutors countering human trafficking and migrant smuggling, organized with financial support from the European Union (EU) under the project: Promoting Action and Cooperation among Countries at Global Level against Trafficking in Human Beings and the Smuggling of Migrants (PACTS).
