Maria David
MEMBERS of the Namibian Police who are lazy, ill-disciplined, and that cooperate with criminals, face being axed from the force if they continue bringing the institution into disrepute.
The Inspector-General of the Namibian Police, Lieutenant General Sebastian Ndeitunga during the inauguration of a brand new Police Station in Oshikuku, expressed disappointment in members that tarnish the image of the force while the majority of officers are working hard to arrest criminals.
“There are some bad apples that even go to the extent of assisting trial awaiting prisoners to escape from lawful custody,” he said.
The General referred to incidents where a total of 23 trial-awaiting prisoners escaped from lawful custody, 12 were from the Kongola Police Station and 11 from the Rundu Police Station.
Ndeitunga noted that out of all of these escapees, only eight were re-arrested. Some of those that were re-arrested indicated that their escape was made possible by police officers.
“This is a very serious criminal offence and I have already directed that those, who were involved in aiding these escapes, should be made to re-arrest the escapees or else I will be left with no option but to fire them,” he said.
Ndeitunga also commended police officers who are doing marvellous jobs in fighting crime within communities. These initiatives are crime prevention, investigations, or adding value to the crime combating chain in one way or another.
The Minister of Safety and Security Frans Kapofi has also noted with disappointment that there are some police officers with low morale and some that have no time for their work.
Kapofi stated that many of the officers prefer to engage in immoral practices on social media and show no interest in their work.
He warned police officers who engage in bad-mouthing leaders on their social media platforms that the State is capable of rooting out the culprits if they wanted to do so.
