Syndicate of organized crime, operating in the Namibian Police Force?

Chris Jacobie

Thursday, September 24, 2015 - 08:15

Editorial

NAMIBIA is a great country. In comparison with a globe in turmoil and leadership under siege by citizens battling them at all fronts, the Namibian nation is blessed.

It is therefore extremely difficult for any Namibian to cast doubt on the commitment or integrity of its police force.

However, when the rank and file are being caught red-handed for various crimes, ranging from stock theft, fraud, rape, murder and drug-dealing the long arm of the law is amputated, because the communities they are supposed to serve are running the risk of being robbed and raped instead.

Lawless police and criminal actions by members of the force have reached the point where it will be a crime of complicity to keep quiet.

The crimes that are committed by police officers must raise the suspicion that a syndicate of organized crime is operating in the force. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and it is undeniable that the vast majority of the common members of law enforcement are true to the call of duty.

Unfortunately, policing is not like a democracy where the good intentions of the majority will prevail, but rather like a crate of apples where the bad one spoils the rest.

Insomuch as the role of city police, traffic police, security companies, reservists and community and neighbourhood watches should be appreciated, the sheer scale of policing outside the national police force must seriously be questioned.

Any additional proof needed to convince the government and political leadership that there is a crisis of trust in the national police will rather be a confirmation of a catastrophic failure of police duty.

There are statistics on police incompetence that are so tragic that it is difficult to comprehend and should be impossible to explain. The Inspector-General of Police, Lt-Genl Sebastian Ndeitunga, is arguably one of the most loyal commanders any police officer can wish for, but is seems to also be his weakest point.

The rank and file have no problem abusing his loyalty to their own criminal advantage and will continue doing so as they calculated that the risk of being caught by a fellow officer is well worth taking.

Some of the most shocking facts are:
More than 2 000 members of the Namibian police force are under investigation by the internal discipline unit and others are suspended or waiting trial for crimes like murder and armed robbery, while dozens are not yet caught.

Even the suspension of police members has reach criminal proportions with the Minister of Safety and Security, Genl Charles Namoloh, hinting that corrupt police file cases against colleagues to block their promotion, because nobody can be considered who is investigated.

A city police officer who appeared as a murder suspect but was free on bail, is now in custody with his lover, also a member of the force, for a second murder after being accused that they murdered the officer’s wife.

A police chaplain was caught near Hochfeld by the neighbourhood watch on poaching charges and the past weekend two police officers were caught, also by a neighbourhood watch, stealing sheep.
Police and law enforcement officers involved in stock theft and illegal hunting can hardly be any worse.

In an astonishing display of corruption, an Angolese man was found guilty of dealing in drugs after he was arrested with cocaine worth N$2,6 million and cash to the amount of N$21 600, which disappeared while in police custody. It now means that 2,6kg of a drug that is sold in grammes is back on the streets, but this time through corrupt police officers who stole the evidence, because of its value in the drug market.

The facts of the case must sent a shiver down the spine of every reasonable Namibian. The facts are: Police caught a drug dealer and then robbed him of his drugs, and knowing who the buyers and users are, could now deal in it.

In any circumstance that points to organised crime on the grandest scale.
There is no better protection for crime than having the drug lords in the police itself.

The proliferation of security companies with poorly-trained guards that are a danger to society and paid slave wages with no job security are on the rise and so are the crimes committed by them growing as they abuse their positions to commit or plan crimes with the knowledge of corrupt policemen and women.

When every second citizen does not feel more secure in spite of ever increasing private and governmental policing initiatives the nation is at war with itself.

For the force to be respected the police have to respect themselves first.

Unfortunately this appears not to be the case as they are the puppets of criminals who even issue orders from the holding cells to policemen and women who belong in custody with them.

Crime intelligence is needed and if it is not available it must be recruited.

Unlike Hollywood where the bad guys win, in Namibia it is time for the majority of the good citizens to win and the bad guys to lose