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Defence  'shocked' by army brutality
Defence 'shocked' by army brutality

Defence 'shocked' by army brutality

Jana-Mari Smith
The ministry of defence says it was shocked to read about a violent crackdown by Namibian Defence Force members on civilians in Windhoek at the weekend.

Unruly soldiers were accused of assaulting a woman in Katutura, a newspaper reported yesterday.

In a brief statement, the ministry said it did not order its members to assault members of the public and was investigating the matter.

“The MoD did not order soldiers to assault members of the public and this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.





























In this regard, the MoD (ministry of defence) will investigate the case and those found guilty will be dealt with according to military discipline code,” the statement read.

The Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) yesterday also responded with alarm to multiple accounts of heavy-handed tactics, including at least one assault of at the hands of Namibian soldiers and police during raids under the crime-fighting operation Hornkranz.



They urged the government to address these issues “lest we return to that sordid part of our history where institutionalised violence was the order of the day. There is no place for this lawless behaviour in an independent Namibia.”



Further, the authorities were urged to provide public feedback about any disciplinary action taken in response to these claims.



The LAC noted that reports of “indiscriminate assaults by the Namibian police and the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) have increased of late and deserve immediate and urgent attention from the inspector-general of the Namibian Police as well as the chief of the Defence Force.”



The Legal Assistance Centre is already tackling a number of civil claims that are linked to allegations of against civilians by the Namibian Police and members of the NDF.



The LAC confirmed yesterday that they had received requests for legal assistance arising from the alleged assaults over the weekend.



The statement said if these civil cases were successful, they would come at the cost of the taxpayer.



One widely reported assault took place on Saturday night.



Luise Mwanyangapo (31) reported on Sunday that she had sustained serious injuries, including a fractured skull, on Saturday night after she had been severely assaulted in a bar by soldiers raiding the establishment.



“Out of nowhere NDF soldiers came out to beat us and punch us, unprovoked. My cousin and I had no idea what was going on. I was beaten unconscious and admitted to the Roman Catholic hospital.”



Namibian Sun was unable to reach Mwanyangapo, a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow and a project manager for FES Media Namibia, the media project of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, for further comment.



Several further reports of assaults, shots fired and harassment by the NDF members of Hornkranz, including photos supporting the claims, made the rounds on social media on Sunday and Monday.



Another claim was that a Windhoek resident who had witnessed multiple assaults by NDF soldiers at a bar “tried opening a case [yesterday], but the police refused”.



The LAC underlined yesterday that although NDF soldiers can be deployed “in the preservation of life, health or property or in such other service as may be determined by the president, the emphasis should be on 'preservation' and not 'violation' of rights.”



The non-profit legal centre further noted that these services must be provided in terms of the Police Act, which stipulates that “force may only be used as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of an offender or suspected offender or persons unlawfully at large.”

These, the LAC stressed, are the “only instances when force can be utilised, and then only as is reasonably necessary.”

JANA-MARI SMITH

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Namibian Sun 2024-03-29

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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 233.12/OZ UP +1.93% | Copper US$ 3.99/lb UP +0.12% | Zinc US$ 2 455.50/T UP 0% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.65/BBP UP +1.46% | Platinum US$ 908.62/OZ UP +1.53% Sport results: Weather: Katima Mulilo: 19° | 36° Rundu: 19° | 29° Eenhana: 19° | 29° Oshakati: 21° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 33° Tsumeb: 19° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 16° | 29° Omaruru: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Gobabis: 17° | 30° Henties Bay: 16° | 20° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 11:22, High tide: 05:24, Low Tide: 23:26, High tide: 17:46 Swakopmund: 16° | 17° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:22, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:44 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 27km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:21, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:43 Rehoboth: 19° | 30° Mariental: 23° | 34° Keetmanshoop: 24° | 35° Aranos: 22° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 28° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 35° Oranjemund: 14° | 25° Luanda: 27° | 28° Gaborone: 20° | 32° Lubumbashi: 17° | 26° Mbabane: 16° | 21° Maseru: 11° | 29° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 17° | 27° Maputo: 20° | 28° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Cape Town: 17° | 28° Durban: 20° | 24° Johannesburg: 16° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 20° | 30° Harare: 16° | 29° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.76 | EUR to NAD 20.35 | CNY to NAD 2.61 | USD to NAD 18.88 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.74 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.77 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.14 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.35 | USD to KES 130.98 | USD to NGN 1415.13 | USD to ZAR 18.88 | USD to ZMW 25.01 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 74536 Up +0.85% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1528.69 Up +0.84% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 12986.94 Up +0.04% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 27559.35 Down -2.36% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 233.12/OZ UP +1.93% | Copper US$ 3.99/lb UP +0.12% | Zinc US$ 2 455.50/T UP 0% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.65/BBP UP +1.46% | Platinum US$ 908.62/OZ UP +1.53%