Ndeitunga: Stop embarrassing me
Police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga has accused some police officers of being in the pockets of criminals and of corruptly misusing state resources, while embarrassing the name of the country's uniformed forces.
He warned lax police officers he will not lose his job over their negligence and lack of performance.
Ndeitunga yesterday summoned all police officers for a briefing at the Wanaheda police station following a hike in the crime rate, which allegedly was partly due to compromised officers.
According to him a member of the police's special reserve force is facing the axe after it was found that he was compromised during the investigation of the late Sakeus 'Kablou' Amateta. Amateta, a notorious figure, was gunned down by the police recently in Windhoek for allegedly resisting arrest.
The police chief said he is embarrassed by some lazy and unprofessional officers, who are often the cause of justice failures.
“They are even saying, 'you know why you are not succeeding in your operation is because Van Wyk is investigating. Van Wyk is too much sniffing around',” he said, adding that some police officers are simply corrupt.
He also said the Rundu family massacre over the weekend was purely as a result of police negligence and a failure to deliver services.
“When you see the report, it states that a member of public came to the charge office and asked the police to assist. But the police said no, they have no car there.
There was not even an entry in the registry to indicate that there was a case.
They just said, 'no car here',” Ndeitunga lamented.
He said it was a joke that while there was no car available to prevent the Rundu massacre, about 12 police vehicles were in attendance at the subsequent crime scene.
“The result of this negligence led to the loss of five lives.
Imagine if it was your own family that was wiped out by a person that was supposed to be arrested by the police.”
“Where were the cars? It is a matter of allocating resources where they are needed,” he said.
According to him a handful of police officers are truly serving the nation, while the majority are chasing the comfort and shade of offices.
He also lamented how there are many police officers who do not do patrols and that some officers are being deployed without the necessary equipment to defend themselves or members of public.
“They are not fit if they do not have the equipment. And I heard some of the officers are apparently allergic to these items, and you find some of these officers on duty in isolated sites such as the Kupferberg satellite police station. They are there because they are disciplined, but they are not given the necessary equipment,” said Ndeitunga.
He also lashed out at female police officers who are posing at shopping malls wearing their police uniforms, while trying to impress people on social media.
According to him many junior police officers are also deployed without being briefed by their supervisors and may even miss criminal activities because they are not vigilant.
“You are getting a salary to produce; the productivity is zero in some offices. The level of productivity is low and you can only improve it when you adjust your performance. If you do not do this then you will be transferred forcefully,” Ndeitunga added.
JEMIMA BEUKES
He warned lax police officers he will not lose his job over their negligence and lack of performance.
Ndeitunga yesterday summoned all police officers for a briefing at the Wanaheda police station following a hike in the crime rate, which allegedly was partly due to compromised officers.
According to him a member of the police's special reserve force is facing the axe after it was found that he was compromised during the investigation of the late Sakeus 'Kablou' Amateta. Amateta, a notorious figure, was gunned down by the police recently in Windhoek for allegedly resisting arrest.
The police chief said he is embarrassed by some lazy and unprofessional officers, who are often the cause of justice failures.
“They are even saying, 'you know why you are not succeeding in your operation is because Van Wyk is investigating. Van Wyk is too much sniffing around',” he said, adding that some police officers are simply corrupt.
He also said the Rundu family massacre over the weekend was purely as a result of police negligence and a failure to deliver services.
“When you see the report, it states that a member of public came to the charge office and asked the police to assist. But the police said no, they have no car there.
There was not even an entry in the registry to indicate that there was a case.
They just said, 'no car here',” Ndeitunga lamented.
He said it was a joke that while there was no car available to prevent the Rundu massacre, about 12 police vehicles were in attendance at the subsequent crime scene.
“The result of this negligence led to the loss of five lives.
Imagine if it was your own family that was wiped out by a person that was supposed to be arrested by the police.”
“Where were the cars? It is a matter of allocating resources where they are needed,” he said.
According to him a handful of police officers are truly serving the nation, while the majority are chasing the comfort and shade of offices.
He also lamented how there are many police officers who do not do patrols and that some officers are being deployed without the necessary equipment to defend themselves or members of public.
“They are not fit if they do not have the equipment. And I heard some of the officers are apparently allergic to these items, and you find some of these officers on duty in isolated sites such as the Kupferberg satellite police station. They are there because they are disciplined, but they are not given the necessary equipment,” said Ndeitunga.
He also lashed out at female police officers who are posing at shopping malls wearing their police uniforms, while trying to impress people on social media.
According to him many junior police officers are also deployed without being briefed by their supervisors and may even miss criminal activities because they are not vigilant.
“You are getting a salary to produce; the productivity is zero in some offices. The level of productivity is low and you can only improve it when you adjust your performance. If you do not do this then you will be transferred forcefully,” Ndeitunga added.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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