A Bill requiring every person in Namibia aged 16 and over to be in possession of an identity document which must be presented to the security forces on demand or "within a reasonable period" passed its first reading in the National Assembly on 27 June. According to the SABC, the aim of the document is to enable the security forces to establish the identity of a suspect without any doubt" and to save "innocent persons... a lot of inconvenience if they are caught up in terrorist activities". The radio added that the security forces would also be able to issue cards to "refugees from neighbouring countries" — presumably a reference to the many Angolans who have crossed into Kavangoland in particular in recent years and who, while described as "refugees" by the South African authorities, are believed to include members of the rebel organization UNITA.
The proposal that Namibians should be issued with compulsory identity documents in addition to the various permits and passes already required by Africans and Coloureds under the terms of South Africa's occupation of the territory, surfaced in 1976 in the Turnhalle constitutional talks. Various steps have since been taken by the SA authorities to issue identity documents or books. These have been widely criticised as a potential replacement for the pass laws, allegedly repealed in Namibia in 1977 by the SWA Administrator General.
