AR threatens to sue cops

The Affirmative Repositioning movement yesterday threatened to take further legal action against the Windhoek City Police following the arrest of one of its leaders at the weekend.

Dimbulukeni Nauyoma, who is one of the AR founders and a member of the recently announced Khomas Rent Control Board, was arrested by the Windhoek City Police for allegedly obstructing police officers who were dismantling illegal shacks.

AR leader Job Amupanda said they were being targeted by the authorities and would today start a series of legal actions against City Police officers.

On Friday night, the High Court granted an order for Nauyoma to be released from the holding cells of the Wanaheda police station so that he could get medical attention for injuries he is believed to have suffered during his arrest late Friday afternoon.

According to a friend who spoke on condition of anonymity Nauyoma is still in hospital and suffers a lot of pain.

“He was thrown into the police van and he fell around against the walls of the van as the police drove very recklessly until they reached the police office,” the friend said.

The actions of the police attracted sharp criticism over the weekend, while a #FreeDimbulukeni hashtag was started on social media.

The youth wing of the official opposition Popular Democratic Movement (PDMYL) condemned the arrest, saying it was unlawful.

“The regime has run out of ideas on how to solve the national housing and land crisis. The Swapo Party proclaims itself to be a socialist and pro-poor party, but we now know that that rhetoric is simply meant to entice the masses of our poor, homeless people to keep voting for the Swapo Party,” the party's youth league said.







Court order questions

Lawyer Norman Tjombe said it was wrong to arrest a person who is preventing the police from doing something illegally, such as demolishing someone's home without a court order.

“Recently, the Supreme Court confirmed that evicting a person from his home and demolishing the home without a court order is illegal, even if that person is illegally on the premises.

“So, if a person obstructs or prevents the police from doing something illegally like demolishing someone's home without a court order, can he or she be arrested and charged with obstructing the police? Of course not.”

Another lawyer, Elize Angula, tweeted that she would volunteer to take the case if the AR was willing to sue the police officers in their personal capacity, provided that they had acted unlawfully.

“If the police officers acted outside the law, it helps to sue [them] in [their] personal capacity. I volunteer. It is often corrective measures to set the right precedent. There are many good and hardworking policemen and -women and the few bad ones destroy their spirit and reputation,” she said.



More arrests

Namibian Sun has been reliably informed that four more community activists had been arrested in the same area on Saturday.

But according to City Police Senior Superintendent Gerry Shikesho only two activists, including Nauyoma, were arrested.



Shikesho said a criminal case had been opened against the two.



He could not give any details, as the case is now handled by the Namibian police.

Deputy Commissioner Abner Agas, the regional crime investigations coordinator, referred questions to the public relations department.

“Just call the police spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner Edwin Kanguatjivi, he has the report of what has happened,” he said.

Kanguatjivi was unreachable.

JEMIMA BEUKES