Staff Reporter
AN ASSAULT rifle that was stolen in May this year when six trial-awaiting inmates overpowered police officers and escaped from police cells at Onandjaba in the Omusati Region has been recovered in Angola after a tip-off from a resident of the area.
According to the police’s Regional Commander, Ismael Basson, the police received information from an Angolan national about an AK-47 rifle found inside the enclosure of a traditional homestead in Onangombe village in Cunene Province.
After due diligence with the Angolan authorities, Namibian police officers were taken to the location in Angola where the rifle was found.
“The rifle was found without a magazine. The serial number was confirmed and matched that of an AK-47 assault rifle that was stolen on Sunday, 24 May 2026, from the Onandjaba Police Station,” Basson said.
Four of the escapees — Eliaser Immanuel, Amukwaya Matheus, Kronelius Nestor Shitaleni and Awala Johannes — were subsequently rearrested, and three of the five stolen weapons have now been recovered.
Still outstanding is one pistol and two fugitives — Nikodemus Junias and Festus Paulus.
