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Former Idols star thrown in jail

Namibia - Former Idols contestant Andriëtte Norman and her boyfriend, Marcel Olivier, were fined R10 000 each in a Namibian court on Monday when visiting the country for not having the required stamps in their passports.

They were released on Monday, after being in custody since Sunday in the Wanaheda police cells in Namibia. They have to leave the country on Tuesday.

Norman (24) and Olivier (26) spent New Year’s Eve in Swakopmund and were on their way to a family friend of Olivier, Martin Wiese, when they were stopped at a roadblock by immigration officers in Brakrivier close to Windhoek.

Human mistake

From the magistrate’s court in Katutura, Wiese on Sunday said the couple was arrested because their passports were only stamped on South Africa’s side of the border and that they didn’t know it should be stamped on the Namibian side as well.

“It’s their first time visiting Namibia on their own. It was a human mistake and now they are being treated like criminals,” Wiese said.

Norman told Beeld she was upset when she heard about the fine, especially because she was under the impression that it would be much less.

“And so you learn from your mistakes. When you’re young, you do things hasty.”

Horrible experience

The couple is very delighted that the “horrible experience” is over. “The first thing I wanted to do when I got out was to take a bath. I felt like a rotten dog.”

She and Olivier could see each other through the bars of their separate cells where they were locked up with almost another 30 men and women respectively. There was no place to lie down and they had to try and sleep on their haunches. According to them, the sell was full of cockroaches.

“I cried terribly while I was in there. It was a horrible experience. I spoke to my father yesterday morning (Monday) and told him that I can’t stay here another night, I feel like a criminal,” she said.

Necessary stamps

Shortly after they were stopped Olivier wrote on his Facebook page: “Awesome ride with the Namib Police!!! Nice free accommodation tonight!”

Mr Clayson Monyela, spokesperson for the department of international relations, said on Monday that they are not aware of the incident.

According to Monyela, family members of the people involved have to phone the department and they will help them obtain the necessary documents.

Norman said that she will definitely visit Namibia again, but will in future make sure she has all the necessary stamps.


 
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