Placido Hilukilwa
THERE was chaos at the Oshikango-Santa Clara border post on Saturday where unruly Angolan fuel smugglers attempted to disarm members of the Namibian police who blocked their illegal exportation of fuel to Namibia.
According to Sergeant Andrew Nghiyolwa of the Namibian police, a number of Angolans were detected and then stopped by the Namibian police while trying to smuggle fuel across the border.
“They resisted the police, going as far as attempting to disarm our officers. However, the officers got the upper hand and the smugglers gave up on crossing the border illegally,” said Nghiyolwa.
But that was not the end of the story.
The Angolans allegedly went on rampage attacking and beating up any Namibian fuel smuggler found on the other side of the border.
According to Nghiyolwa, at least two Namibia registered vehicles were stoned and badly damaged while filling up at a Santa Clara service station.
“We do not yet have an exact number of Namibians who were hurt and the number of vehicles damaged because the victims did not report anything to the police, perhaps afraid because they were there illegally,” he said.
He also reported that the Angolan police have arrested a number of (Angolan) suspects. The Namibian victims are now needed to go to Angola to make sworn statements.
“We are requesting them to present themselves at the Oshikango police station. There is nothing to fear. Our officers will accompany them to Angola where their statements are needed,” said Nghiyolwa.
Fuel smuggling across Namibia’s northern border has law enforcement agents scratching their heads. Attempts to curb the illicit trade has so far achieved only limited success.
