Internal probe into alleged unfair City Police promotions

The City of Windhoek has launched an internal review following complaints about alleged unfair recruitment, promotions and workplace conduct within the Windhoek City Police.

The probe follows an anonymous letter submitted to the City of Windhoek's chief executive officer, Moses Matyayi, and the municipality’s management committee in April, alleging tribal favouritism, nepotism and unfair promotion practices within the urban police force.

The letter claims that recent promotions have disproportionately benefited officers linked to the Aakwambi group, raising concerns about fairness, transparency and compliance.

In response, Matyayi formally requested City Police chief Leevi Ileka to clarify the allegations and either confirm or refute the claims.

“The concerns raised therein include, inter alia, allegations that promotions within the City Police Service are conducted on a tribal basis,” Matyayi wrote.

He instructed that the response should address each allegation individually and be “factual, precise, and substantiated”, while avoiding “generic, inflammatory or unverified statements”.

Impact on morale

The anonymous complainants, who describe themselves as long-serving officers involved in establishing the City Police between 2005 and 2006, said morale within the department had deteriorated significantly.

“Many of us have worked for more than 20 years, understand the City Police well, and care deeply about it," the letter stated.

"However, the current situation is becoming difficult and is getting out of control,” the writers alleged.

The complainants claim that recent promotions were not conducted in line with Regulation 10, which they say requires vacant positions to be advertised and contested by at least five candidates.

The letter lists several divisions in which recently promoted officers were allegedly linked to the Aakwambi group, including special operations, human resources, traffic, legal services, crime prevention, and the drone office.

“It is seen that most of the promotions are going to Aawambo, especially Aakwambi. This is not fair,” the complainants allege.

“We are not saying anyone can just be promoted, but there are hard-working members with great talent, and their talent is not seen".

They also raised concerns about alleged favouritism in refresher training opportunities.

“Training is meant to build skills and improve performance for all members. However, this is not happening, as many members on the ground and in other sections are left out,” the letter said.

Expertise concerns

According to the complainants, some officers have allegedly not attended refresher training since 2005 or 2006.

The anonymous submission also questioned a proposed graduate policy reportedly under consideration by the institution, with members expressing concern that civilians or graduates could eventually replace trained officers in specialised units.

“There is also a worry about civilians taking over certain functions, as this may expose the department and sensitive information to criminals,” the letter read.

Further concerns were raised about Acting Superintendent Hendrina Ndahangoundja allegedly commanding trained officers despite claims that she lacks formal police training.

City of Windhoek spokesperson Harold Akwenye said the municipality takes any allegations seriously, but that it remains an internal administrative process and is therefore confidential.