Police guilty of beating woman

JANA-MARI SMITHWINDHOEK A High Court judge has awarded N$10 000 to a woman after he found she was beaten in the face by a police officer during questioning in late 2017.The award of N$10 000 is a fraction of the N$100 000 Penehafo Naholo sued the police for in early 2019.She accused the police of cruelly handcuffing her, shocking and beating her in the aftermath of an armed robbery at her workplace.Acting Judge Collins Parker dismissed four of the five claims for lack of sufficient evidence.The resulting investigation found that Penehafo Naholo was the girlfriend of one of the men who participated in the robbery at the gambling house in late 2017. She was never arrested or charged in connection of the case, however.Parker’s judgement said the N$100 000 demand for all five claims meant each claim amounted to N$20 000.No evidenceThe first claim dismissed by the court related to Nehalo’s complaint that she was unlawfully arrested. Judge Parker said the claim could not be proven, because the plaintiff was never arrested, as she had testified in court.On the issue of unlawful detention, Parker said no evidence was presented during the trial to prove this allegation.He added that the police acted within their rights to question her as a witness to the armed robbery, including being the girlfriend of one of the accused robbers.He rejected the claim that Naholo had been unconventionally handcuffed, repeating the absence of evidence to support this allegation.On the claim that electric shocks were administered to her wrists during questioning, Parker relied on a doctor’s testimony that when he treated Naholo after the assault, she had not mentioned “such crucial information” and had only described the physical assault.AssaultThe only claim Parker was satisfied with was that Naholo had been hit in the face, which caused bruising to her left cheek but no open wounds.“That is not to say that I overlook the fact that any unlawful assault should be condemned.”He noted that based on the facts of the claims, “I think N$20 000 for the assault is exorbitant. In my judgment, an award of N$10 000 is reasonable and is capable of meeting the justice of the case.”CostsParker also decided that each party in the case would pay their own costs.He said he took into account that the defendants were from government, and Naholo is an “ordinary, unemployed person who came to court to vindicate her rights. Such conduct by poor, ordinary persons should be encouraged in a constitutional state.”

Police guilty of beating woman

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Namibian Sun 2026-03-13

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Police guilty of beating woman

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Namibian Sun 2026-03-13

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