Cannabis activist Brian Jaftha, currently incarcerated at the Windhoek Correctional Facility, started a hunger strike on Tuesday in protest against cannabis laws and the treatment of the Rastafari community.

According to Assistant Commissioner Salmi Hangula, spokesperson for the Namibian Correctional Service, Jaftha underwent a mandatory medical examination to determine whether he was fit to embark on a hunger strike.

 "As per procedure, the inmate had to go for a medical examination first to see if he was fit to go on a hunger strike. Once he was found to be fit, he was placed in a single cell this afternoon," said Hangula.

She explained that this measure was taken to isolate Jaftha from other inmates who would continue to receive meals.

Jaftha, president of both the Rastafari United Front (RUF) and the Ganja Users of Namibia (GUN), is protesting what he describes as the unjust criminalisation of cannabis use and the systemic discrimination faced by the Rastafari community in Namibia.

In a letter addressed to President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Jaftha outlined a list of grievances, including economic exclusion, cultural suppression, and disproportionately harsh punishments for cannabis-related offences.

He also criticised "inconsistent law enforcement and the marginalisation of Rastafarians from participating in any form of legal cannabis economy".

Jaftha is currently serving a two-year sentence for possession of cannabis valued at less than N$2,000.

He says his planned hunger strike is intended as a political statement advocating for the decriminalisation of cannabis and the recognition of Rastafari rights in Namibia.