Prison authorities at the Windhoek Correctional Facility have rejected recommendations from two doctors who said a severely disabled inmate needed to be released from prison for medical care.

The Windhoek High Court has now overturned that decision and ordered that the bedridden inmate be released within 10 days.

A High Court judge found that the refusal to recommend his release was unreasonable and not supported by the medical evidence before the court.

The case involves 50-year-old Erwin Ndukireepo, an inmate at the Windhoek Correctional Facility who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of murder in the Gobabis Regional Court in December 2020.

Ndukireepo has been bedridden since February 2024, after experiencing severe lower-back pain and losing the ability to walk and to control his bladder and bowel movements.

His condition later deteriorated to the point where he could no longer speak or write, although he could still read and hear.

A medical opinion issued by specialist physician Dr Ismael Katjitae in May 2025 recommended that Ndukireepo be considered for early discharge into home-based care.

The recommendation was based on his severe immobility, incontinence, bedridden state, and pressure sores.

Ndukireepo subsequently applied for release on medical grounds in February 2026, but on 12 March, the medical officer at the Windhoek Correctional Facility refused to recommend his release.

The reason given was that Ndukireepo’s vital organs and overall physical condition had remained clinically stable for about a year. The medical officer also maintained that he had a designated caregiver and that his condition could be managed within the correctional health-care system.

In April, Dr Katjitae reassessed Ndukireepo together with other doctors, including a neurologist and Dr Ndengu, at Windhoek Central Hospital.

Dr Katjitae found that Ndukireepo’s condition had deteriorated: his speech and ability to communicate had declined, while he remained completely bedridden and had developed pressure ulcers.

The doctors linked the ulcers to prolonged immobility and his inability to reposition and care for himself.

Dr Katjitae warned that keeping him in prison under those circumstances exposed him to the risk of infected pressure sores, blood infection, malnutrition, dehydration, further physical deterioration, repeated hospitalisation, and premature death.

A day later, Dr Ndengu reached a similar conclusion.

Dr Ndengu reported that Ndukireepo was now unable to communicate verbally, was completely dependent on others for daily care, and had developed pressure sores caused by prolonged immobility.

Ndukireepo asked the prison authorities to reconsider their decision, but he never received an answer, which led him to approach the High Court.

The court examined the prison authorities’ claim that Ndukireepo’s condition could be adequately managed inside the correctional facility and found that the authorities had not properly addressed the concerns raised by the two doctors, particularly the development of pressure sores and the continuing deterioration of Ndukireepo’s physical condition.

The court questioned how the prison could claim that his condition was being effectively managed while medical evidence showed progressive deterioration, wounds, and pressure ulcers.

The court heard that, because he is kept in a communal cell, he is dressed and undressed and has his diapers changed in front of other inmates, and relies at times on fellow prisoners to help change his position, take him to the toilet, and assist him with other basic needs.