Ndeitunga lashes cops

Police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga yesterday ordered Khomas police officers to clean up their act in order to restore public trust and law and order.Ndeitunga gave a tough talk during an address to senior and rank and file police officers of the Otjomuise and Katutura police stations yesterday.He said for some police officers, from senior to junior ranks, “the most important thing is your salary and not your job”.Laziness, corruption, sexism and favouritism were highlighted as problems in the higher ranks of the police force, and Ndeitunga said an urgent turnaround is needed to ensure transparency within the force.The police chief said “safety and security is a problem to people in this city” and warned that residents are “losing trust and confidence in the police”. He highlighted the high rates of murder, robberies and said the city is overrun with gangs, drug and alcohol abuse, pirate taxis in known hotspots and asked: “What measures have you put in place to ensure no more lives are lost? What are you doing to close bars? Where are we doing as police officers?”Ndeitunga warned that “people in this town are losing trust and confidence in the police” and asked “how long will people tolerate this?”He urged for more visible and vigilant policing on the streets, in city centres, crime hotspots and at road blocks. “Let's put all we have into this, to come to the fore to clean up this town. Let us flush out the criminals,” he demanded. Some do, some don'tThe police chief added that the hard work of some police officers is compromised by police who don't do their job, describing it as “unfair” that there are officers who are paid a salary “who do nothing”.Ndeitunga said those tarnishing the image of the police and “demoralising those who do well, should go”.He further pointed out that policing is not an eight-to-five job, but requires constant alertness and responses to emergencies where and when they occur.“As the police responsible for this town, everybody looks to you for safety and security.”He urged police to inform him of those who are “ill-disciplined, lazy, corrupt, drunkards”, so that steps can be taken to address these issues. Ndeitunga noted that a recent arrest of four police officers took place after they were caught stealing prisoner food, and highlighted investigations that have lagged behind five to ten years, in addition to dockets that go missing. He said in some cases top performing officers are not giving a chance to rise in the ranks, while senior officers promote those who do their bidding and not their job. He said any officers involved in illegal and corrupt activities don't “deserve to be in the police force and undermine the criminal justice system”. JANA-MARI SMITH

Ndeitunga lashes cops

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

Please login to leave a comment

Ndeitunga lashes cops

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

Please login to leave a comment

Login